Holder: Barr’s Letter ‘A Little Troublesome’ – ‘He’s Wrong’ on Obstruction Determination

On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Beat,” former Attorney General Eric Holder stated that Attorney General William Barr’s letter summarizing the Mueller report is “a little troublesome.” He further stated that Barr is incorrect in his belief that determining whether Trump committed obstruction was up to him.

Holder said that, based on what he has seen, the lack of a conspiracy indictment is “good news” for the president that clears him of collusion.

Host Ari Melber then asked, “What does it say to you that Barr’s letter never quotes even a complete sentence from the Mueller report, let alone a paragraph?”

Holder answered, “It’s a little troublesome. Because there are — you look at the letter and you’re trying to figure out how much of this is Barr, how much of this is Mueller, how much of this is based on the Mueller findings? I think it all points to the fact that, at the end of the day, Congress, the public are going to have to have access to the Mueller report, and then also, I think, hear from both Bob Mueller and from Attorney General Barr.”

Melber later asked, “So, when Barr in his letter suggests this [determining obstruction] is up to him, is he right or wrong about that?”

Holder responded, “I think he’s wrong. I think he is taking onto himself a role that has not typically been used by people in the position that [Bill] Barr has had.”

Holder later added that Mueller “had the possibility of declining prosecution, and he thought there was too much evidence, I think, there to decline. If you look at the letter, the letter talks about he’s not exonerating anybody. So he’s not in a position to decline the case. The only other option that he had was to put this case in as good a form as he could with the expectation that somebody would do something with it. And if past precedent is any guide, that would be the attorney general, or somebody in the Justice Department shipping out that which he put together to Congress for consideration.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett