Barr says he doesn't think Obama-era Justice officials committed treason

Attorney General William BarrWilliam Pelham BarrACLU says it will 'sue swiftly' over Trump administration ending asylum protections Trump to end asylum protections for most Central American migrants at US-Mexico border This week: House Dems voting to hold Barr, Ross in contempt MORE said in an interview with "CBS This Morning" airing Friday that he doesn't think Obama-era Justice officials committed treason "as a legal matter."

When asked by reporter Jan Crawford whether Barr believes that Obama-era officials committed treason, Barr replied "not as a legal matter."

Asked whether he was concerned about the way officials handled a probe into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and whether they conspired with the Trump campaign, Barr said he was. 

"Sometimes people can convince themselves that what they're doing is in the higher interest and better good," he said during the Thursday interview. "They don't realize that what they're doing is really antithetical to the democratic system that we have."

Barr also said during the interview that he believes special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) Swan MuellerTop Republican considered Mueller subpoena to box in Democrats Kamala Harris says her Justice Dept would have 'no choice' but to prosecute Trump for obstruction Dem committees win new powers to investigate Trump MORE could have made a determination as to whether President TrumpDonald John TrumpCNN's Camerota clashes with Trump's immigration head over president's tweet LA Times editorial board labels Trump 'Bigot-in-Chief' Trump complains of 'fake polls' after surveys show him trailing multiple Democratic candidates MORE obstructed justice. 

.@JanCBS: "[Mueller] seemed to suggest there was another venue for this & that was Congress."
AG Barr: "Well, I'm not sure what he was suggesting, but the Department of Justice doesn't use our powers of investigating crimes as an adjunct to Congress." https://t.co/vtOcLKpmTJ pic.twitter.com/OPgbpbonGb

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 30, 2019

President Trump has accused FBI agent Peter Strzok, who served on Mueller's team, of treason.

“This is the FBI we’re talking about — that is treason,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal last year, referring to Strzok's anti-Trump text messages. “That is a treasonous act.”