Because Mueller did not reach a conclusion on obstruction, Barr stepped in and, together with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein, decided the president’s actions were not criminal. “The Special Counsel’s decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions leaves it to the Attorney General to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime,” he wrote. Some critics suggested that the special counsel really wanted to leave the decision up to Congress, but Barr testified that Mueller didn’t express that. Barr said that automatically left the issue in his hands: “That’s generally how the Department of Justice works.”

Source: Los Angeles Times April 10, 2019 16:50 UTC