In a Thursday morning press conference before the public release of the Mueller report, Attorney General William Barr vociferously defended his decision not to bring obstruction charges against Donald Trump, and again absolved the president of wrongdoing, at times echoing Trump’s own legal defenses for his actions and behavior during the nearly two-year probe. “The special counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election, but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes,” Barr said. For that reason, he argued, Trump did not have corrupt intent when he fired James Comey, raged against the D.O.J. and F.B.I., or when he sought to undermine the credibility of special counsel Robert Mueller. “The president was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks,” he said.

At times, Barr appeared to be acting almost as a defense attorney for the president, rather than the nation’s top prosecutor. According to the attorney general, his belief that Trump did not commit a crime “weighs heavily against any allegation that the president had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation.” In fact, he argued, the president “fully cooperated with the special counsel’s investigation.”

The redacted Mueller report, which will be released later Thursday, may point to different conclusions. In the report, Barr said, the special counsel detailed 10 episodes that could be linked as part of a case for obstruction of justice. During his press conference, Barr said that while he accepted Mueller’s legal framework for the “purposes” of his own analysis, he disagreed with some of Mueller’s legal theories regarding obstruction. “It is important to bear in mind the context,” Barr said, arguing that Trump faced an “unprecedented situation” and “relentless speculation in the media” about his personal culpability in Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election.

In questions following his prepared remarks, Barr maintained that he was not being unduly favorable to the president. But his statement Thursday, along with his combative sparring with reporters after the fact, was likely music to Trump’s ears. It will almost certainly feed into the deep polarization surrounding the investigation, deepening the partisan gulf even as the Mueller report is released to the public. Already, Democrats have criticized the attorney general’s “regrettably partisan” handling of the Mueller report, which they say has “resulted in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality.”

Their criticism began last month, when Barr told lawmakers in a four-page summary of Mueller’s findings that the special counsel had not established collusion between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin, and had punted the question of obstruction to the Department of Justice, where he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded there was insufficient evidence to suggest Trump had committed obstruction. Trump and his allies latched on to the Barr letter, with the president claiming—incorrectly—that Barr had delivered his “Complete and Total EXONERATION.” But questions were immediately raised about the credibility of Barr’s letter, and some members of Mueller’s team reportedly challenged the attorney general’s characterization of their findings.

In his press conference Thursday, Barr attempted to put some of those concerns to rest, sounding off on issues of executive privilege, discussions about the report between the White House and the D.O.J., and his own redaction process. “I’m committed to ensuring the greatest degree possible of transparency,” Barr said, adding that he would be open to Mueller testifying before Congress, as Democratic leadership has requested. But it seems unlikely that his remarks will resonate with critics, especially given his response to a question about his apparent role in pushing Trump’s narrative. “Is it an impropriety for you to come out and what appears to be sort of spinning the report before the public gets a chance to read it?” a reporter asked. “No,” Barr responded, before abruptly leaving the podium.

Democrats are continuing to call for the report to be released without redaction, along with underlying investigatory materials, and could issue a subpoena for the documents as soon as Friday. Trump has shot down these demands as “presidential harassment”, but Democrats have signaled a willingness to go to the mat over Mueller—and could see their oversight demands bolstered by whatever is found in his report.

That report will represent the deepest look yet at the nearly two-year probe into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia that has brought down several people in the president’s orbit, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national-security adviser__Michael Flynn.__ That could prove troublesome for Trump politically, even though he’s been cleared legally by Barr. As such, Trump and his allies are prepping a counterattack in the form of a rebuttal to the report. “[We’re] ready to rumble,” Rudy Giuliani, the president’s lawyer, told The Washington Post Thursday morning.

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