George Conway thinks there must be 'something pretty damning' in Mueller report
After taking a look at Attorney General William Barr's letter summarizing his interpretation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, conservative lawyer George Conway has a few takeaways, which he details in a Washington Post op-ed published Tuesday night.
The husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and one of President Trump's most vocal critics, Conway said the question of whether Trump obstructed justice has always been "dicey." It's not surprising, he writes, that in the summary, Barr quoted Mueller as saying it raised "'difficult issues' of law and fact concerning whether the president's actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction."
Looking at facts, "obstruction turns on what's in a defendant's mind — often a difficult thing to determine, and especially difficult with a mind as twisted as Trump's," Conway said. What's amazing is Mueller saying his report "does not conclude that the president committed a crime" but "it also does not exonerate him." This is "a stunning thing for a prosecutor to say," Conway writes. If the report does not exonerate Trump, "there must be something pretty damning in it about him, even if it might not suffice to prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Barr said in his letter that Mueller "ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment" about obstruction, and Conway reasons that it's "hard to escape the conclusion that Mueller wrote his report to allow the American people and Congress to decide what to make of the facts. And that is what should — must — happen now." One thing Conway says he's certain of is "if the charge were unfitness for office, the verdict would already be in: Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." Read his entire op-ed at The Washington Post.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published