In a private meeting with House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has told her caucus to not trust the words of President Donald Trump's Attorney General William Barr.
"Pelosi told House Dems in private meeting that Bill Barr’s words cannot be taken at face value, arguing he got job by authoring a memo criticizing Mueller obstruction probe," CNN's Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju reports.
She was referring to the 19-page unsolicited memo Barr wrote and sent to the DOJ last year. In it, he reportedly said it's virtually impossible for a president to commit the crime of obstruction of justice, as he is the head of the executive branch. The Dept. of Justice falls under the executive branch, but is supposed to be free from presidential intervention.
The Speaker "said Barr’s job is to defend the president and Democrats should wait to see what’s in the full report," Raju said.
He adds:
Chairman Schiff was referring to the Dept. of Justice's move late Monday in which it has told a federal court it believes ObamaCare should be eliminated entirely. Were the lawsuit, which has already ruled the individual mandate is unconstitutional, to become successful, tens of millions of Americans would be without health insurance. Also, the ObamaCare laws strengthening all health care plans, including coverage for pre-existing conditions, would be tossed out.