(AP) – The Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr improperly withheld portions of an internal memorandum Barr cited in announcing that then-President Donald Trump had not committed obstruction of justice in the Russia investigation. The department had argued the 2019 memo represented the private deliberations of its own lawyers before any decision had been formalized, and was therefore exempt from disclosure. Friday’s decision by a federal appeals court said the Justice Department memo noted Mueller’s report didn’t accuse Trump of obstructing justice but also didn’t exonerate him. The internal memo said that could be interpreted as implying an accusation against Trump if released to the public. (Photo: AP)