Barr Changes Written Testimony on ‘Russian Interference’ to ‘Russian Attempts to Interfere’ in Hearing. Why?
Attorney General nominee William Barr is facing a congressional hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. As proceedings got underway, Barr used his opening statement to address his criticism of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, while insisting he “will not permit partisan politics, personal interests or any other improper consideration to interfere” with the investigation.
Interestingly enough, however, there seems to be a slight but noteworthy difference between Barr’s opening statement to the committee and the written testimony he publicly released Monday night.
When Barr said he still has faith in Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s 2016 election-meddling, there was difference in how exactly he characterized Russia’s interfering activities.
Here’s how he phrased it in his prepared statement (emphasis mine):
“Given his public actions to date, I expect that the Special Counsel is well along in his investigation. At the same time, the President has been steadfast that he was not involved in any collusion with Russian interference in the election. I believe it is in the best interest of everyone – the President, Congress, and, most importantly, the American people – that this matter be resolved by allowing the Special Counsel to complete his work.”
Here’s that same paragraph as Barr said it before the committee today:
“Given his public actions to date, I expect that the Special Counsel is well along in his investigation. At the same time, the president has been steadfast that he was not involved in any collusion with Russian attempts to interfere in the election. I believe it is in the best interest of everyone – the President, Congress and the American people – that this matter be resolved by allowing the Special Counsel to complete his work.”
Notice the addition of “attempts” to his comments. For the record, the U.S. intelligence community has accused Russia of more than just an attempt to interfere. On top of that, a dozen Russian intelligence officers were indicted by Mueller’s probe for hacking Democratic officials to subvert the election.
There was another moment in Barr’s opener where he differentiated on the precise characterization of Russia’s activities. This one came as he talked about the memo he wrote that criticized Mueller.
Here’s the written version (emphasis mine):
“The memo did not address – or in any way question – the Special Counsel’s core investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Nor did it address other potential obstruction-of-justice theories or argue, as some have erroneously suggested, that a President can never obstruct justice.”
Now compare that with the spoken version:
The memo did not address – or in any other way question – the Special Counsel’s core investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the election. Nor did it address other potential obstruction-of-justice theories or argue, as some have strongly suggested, that a president can never obstruct justice.
So, why the change wording? What prompted Barr’s decision, overnight, to change his wording and soften the allegations against Russia? It’s subtle, but carries a great deal of weight — particularly given Trump’s refusal to accept intelligence that Russia interfered. We’ll have to wait and see if any lawmakers in the hearing take notice.
Watch above, via CNN.
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