AG Bill Barr's cover-up for Trump may have made his problems worse: conservative commentator

Writing in the Washington Post, conservative commentator Jennifer Rubin looked at the fallout following Attorney General William Barr's summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Donald Trump and called it a "stunt" that could harm the president more than help him.

According to Rubin-- who has abandoned the Republican Party over its support of Trump -- Barr could have taken another path other than issuing a 4-page summary that was roundly criticized.

"Had Barr requested the federal court overseeing the grand jury to allow transmission of the report to Congress — as was done in Watergate — or sent along Mueller’s summaries, all of this could have been avoided," she wrote, adding, " The Justice Department seems to be engaged in prolonged gamesmanship both to keep the report bottled up and to rationalize Barr’s interference with Congress’s right to see the information."

Where Barr really erred, Rubin asserts, was referring to secret grand jury testimony that he may not reveal when he releases what is expected to be a heavily redacted report later in the month -- which will give other Trump investigations sources for more evidence.

"Most or all of the report will make its way to Congress. Barr and/or Mueller will testify, and Mueller will describe how he compiled the report, why he prepared the summaries and why he did not render a judgment on indictment," Rubin explained. "The irony here is that Trump will not be indicted or removed from office. When Trump does leave office, however, another party might hold the White House, other prosecutors will seek access to the report and the latter might be the basis for criminal prosecution, which certainly can begin once Trump is no longer president. Even if the feds never charge Trump, that could leave considerable territory for New York state prosecutors to charge Trump under state law.'

"You see, simply because Trump and Barr want to wish away the Mueller report doesn’t mean it’s gone," she elaborated. "To the contrary, its release might prove even more debilitating to them both. The information it contains, along with any additional evidence prosecutors in the Southern District of New York uncover, will not vanish."

"The facts are the facts. Voters will render one verdict; down the road state and federal prosecutors might seek others. Trump can run, but he cannot hide forever," she concluded.

You can read the whole piece here.