DEVELOPING: Some members of Special Counsel Mueller's team have expressed frustration that AG Barr cleared President Trump of obstruction of justice, a US official who has spoken with them tells NBCNews.
A former federal prosecutor familiar with Barr's thinking said the attorney general believed the obstruction case was complicated by the fact that the questionable actions taken by Trump, such as firing his FBI director, were authorized under the powers of the presidency.
On Thursday morning, the Justice Department issued a statement saying that Barr had decided to release the"bottom-line findings" and conclusions of the Mueller report immediately, without attempting to summarize it. The statement said he did so with the understanding that the report would be made public once confidential information in it had been redacted.
Mueller told Barr and his deputy Rod Rosenstein four weeks ago that he would not be making a decision about obstruction — news that came as a surprise to them, Justice Department officials said. Barr's letter said Rosenstein agreed with his decision that there was no case that the president had obstructed justice.It's also unclear whether Barr coordinated his March 24 letter in advance with Mueller.
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