DOJ obstructing justice

The Justice Department is seeking to discourage Robert S. Mueller III’s deputies [Aaron Zebley and James L. Quarles III] from testifying before Congress, potentially jeopardizing an agreement for two of the former prosecutors to answer lawmakers’ questions in private next week, according to two government officials familiar with the matter.

[...]

It is unclear what effect the Justice Department’s intervention will have on the men’s eventual appearances, but it raises the prospect that a deal lawmakers thought they had struck last month for testimony from Mr. Mueller, the former special counsel, and the two prosecutors could still unravel.

Both Mr. Zebley and Mr. Quarles have left the Justice Department and are now private citizens, meaning that the department most likely cannot actually block their testimony. But the department’s view — depending on how strongly it is expressed — could have a chilling effect on two longtime employees and give them cover to avoid testifying.

[...]

Democrats on the two House panels reached a deal late last month, after weeks of negotiations, for testimony from the prosecutors. Under the terms outlined by lawmakers and officials familiar with the discussions, Mr. Mueller agreed to testify publicly under subpoena on July 17 in back-to-back, time-limited hearings before the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees.

But Mr. Zebley and Mr. Quarles tentatively agreed to make limited appearances as well to answer questions from lawmakers from the two committees behind closed doors. Those private appearances are still in flux, the congressional official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk about discussions that were intended to be private.

[...]

Mr. Zebley is considered Mr. Mueller’s closest associate. He served as his chief of staff when Mr. Mueller was F.B.I. director, and he functioned in a similar role in the special counsel’s office, coordinating the team working for Mr. Mueller and as a go-between with the Justice Department. He is intimately familiar with most aspects of the investigation, and in a private session could probably add details and context that Mr. Mueller would not in public.

[...]

Mr. Quarles was heavily involved in the team’s investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s attempts to impede investigators constituted obstruction of justice, and he was the lead intermediary with the White House.

[...]

In an interview with The Associated Press, Mr. Barr said that the Justice Department would support Mr. Mueller if he wanted to back out. And he said that the department would seek to block any attempt by House Democrats to subpoena members of Mr. Mueller’s prosecutorial team.

  NYT