Why can't you just see it for what it is? There wasn't evidence to convict Trump for any criminal wrongdoing, but there are enough question marks for an impeachment, if the House was inclined to do so. This much was clear from his testimony yesterday. Once Mueller examined the evidence, he didn't have a strong enough claim for a criminal charge. So, instead of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, he included those incidents which he thought would legitimize impeachment proceedings. 

Quote:"It explains that under long-standing Department policy, a President cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view, that too is prohibited. The special counsel’s office is part of the Department of Justice and by regulation it was bound by that Department policy. Charging the president with a crime was, therefore, not an option we could consider." -Mueller

Mueller does not state that he would have brought charges if the OLC opinion didn't exist, and that question is never addressed by him. In fact, Mueller basically stated that he would not answer that question. He went so far as to make clear that, if even he were subpoenaed, he wouldn't answer any questions that weren't covered in his report. If he were to answer the above question, it would bring a lot of criticism on himself, fairly or unfairly. 

This doesn't mean he lied about it, either. He didn't claim it was the exclusive reason he didn't bring charges. He didn't bring obstruction charges against anyone else he investigated, even though they aren't a sitting President. Mueller simply used the OLC opinion as an excuse. The OLC opinion is simply a convenient mechanism that he can use to deflect the ire that will come from half of the populace if Trump is or isn't punished. Once he found no criminal charges, he determined his best play was to pass the buck to the House for impeachment. Imo, he's trying to make it out of this as unscathed as possible, and I don't blame him. 

If the House wants to impeach, they have his report. 

There is no reason to believe Barr is a liar. All of the evils being attributed to him have been debunked by Mueller himself.

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