Chris Mattei, a former Assistant United States Attorney for Connecticut, told NBC Connecticut that not only is there a strong case for obstruction against President Donald Trump, but he added that the characterizations made of the Mueller report have been troubling.
"It seemed as though he was trying to manipulate public opinion about what Bob Mueller had found and what Bob Mueller said that goes to the very nature of what the special counsel was for which is to create confidence in the public that the investigation was done properly,” Mattei said of William Barr, the attorney general who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
Mattei prosecuted public corruption while with the Department of Justice. He was lead counsel in the second trial against former Governor John Rowland, that saw Rowland get convicted and sent to federal prison for a second time.
When asked about the evidence laid out in the more than 400 page report, Mattei said any prosecutor would be in a strong position.
“Let me put it this way,” Mattei said. “I've prosecuted obstruction cases on far less evidence than is contained in the Mueller report.”
Trump has taken the results of the Mueller report as a clear victory, regardless of the report’s contents. He’s tweeted on multiple occasions declaring, “no obstruction,” and “no collusion,” referring to Russia.
Attorney General William Barr is now refusing to testify before the House Judiciary Committee to discuss Mueller’s findings. The committee’s chairman has threatened to hold Barr in contempt.
