NYC Rep. Jerrold Nadler Doesn't 'Trust' Trump Obstruction Finding

NEW YORK — One of New York City's most powerful federal representatives cast doubt Monday on the attorney general who cleared President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice.

U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said he could not "trust" Attorney General William Barr's conclusion that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe did not turn up enough evidence to show Trump committed the crime.

"Of course he would decide that there was no obstruction of justice. We cannot trust that decision," Nadler told reporters after an unrelated event in Greenwich Village.

Barr issued a letter to lawmakers on Sunday summarizing Mueller's report on his nearly two-year investigation into Russian election interference. Mueller did not come to a conclusion about whether Trump's actions constituted obstruction of justice, though he said that the report "does not exonerate" the president, the letter says.

But Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined the evidence Mueller's probe uncovered was "not sufficient to establish" that Trump committed obstruction, according to the letter.

Nadler said he couldn't accept Barr's claim because he wrote a memo saying "in effect" that a president cannot commit obstruction of justice, a conclusion Nadler said was based on a "wild theory of unitary executive power."

"He had no business making a decision one way or the other, and he was auditioned for the job to shut down the investigation," Nadler said. "He is the third attorney general and he finally did the job that he was hired to do."

The obstruction probe reportedly examined Trump's request that then-FBI Director James Comey drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his subsequent firing of Comey.

The memo Barr sent to Rosenstein last June as a private lawyer argued that Trump acted within his executive authority and called Mueller's obstruction probe "fatally misconceived," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Nadler also repeated his demand for Mueller's report to be released in full, adding that he didn't trust Barr's summary of it. "He read this whole thing in 20 hours," he said.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nadler's remarks came a day after he said Barr would be called to testify before the Judiciary Committee "in the near future."

The committee also requested documents from more than 80 people, agencies and organizations earlier this month as it launched an investigation into obstruction of justice, corruption and what it called "abuses of power" by Trump and his administration.

Trump has claimed "total exoneration" as a result of Mueller's investigation. He has emphasized that the probe found that his presidential campaign did not coordinate with Russia in the 2016 election, acording to Barr's letter.

"No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!" Trump tweeted on Sunday.