Trump expresses frustration with Barr on probe

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday questioned the status of the Justice Department’s investigation into the origins of the Russia probe, after reports that Attorney General William Barr has said not to expect conclusions before Election Day.

But a year and a half into the investigation led by U.S. Attorney John Durham, there has been only one criminal case: a former FBI lawyer who pleaded guilty to altering a government email about a former Trump campaign adviser who was a target of secret FBI surveillance.

On Friday, Trump told conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh that Justice Department investigators had “plenty of time to do it. They’ve been looking at it for two years. The facts are on the table.”

Barr has communicated recently to Republican lawmakers that it’s highly unlikely the report will be completed by Election Day, according to people familiar with the matter. After Limbaugh read Trump an Axios story on the topic, Trump said he’d be disappointed if Barr had relayed that message to lawmakers.

“If Bill Barr actually made that statement, I would be very disappointed in him. I don’t know that he made that statement,” Trump said.

He also said that if he doesn’t win, the investigation will go away.

This account is based on interviews with six people who have knowledge of Trump and Barr’s relationship. They were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Trump is also said to blame Barr for comments from FBI Director Chris Wray on election fraud and mail-in voting that don’t jibe with the president’s views. Wray has said there has not historically been any kind of mass voter fraud, whether through the mail or otherwise, a message at odds with Trump and Barr’s repeated efforts to raise concerns about a process they claim is especially vulnerable to abuse.

A senior administration official said Trump feels like he’s given Barr wide latitude to advance the investigation, including declassifying documents related to Russia. In the absence of blockbuster findings, Trump is now moving to make documents public himself with his new acting head of intelligence.

On Thursday morning, Trump did not hide his displeasure in an interview on Fox News Business.

“Unless Bill Barr indicts these people for crimes — the greatest political crime in the history of our country — then we’ll get little satisfaction, unless I win,” he said.

The comment followed earlier presidential social media posts, including one in which Trump retweeted a doctored image of Barr superimposed with the late “Saturday Night Live” actor Chris Farley in character as a motivational speaker yelling at him. The caption: “for the love of God ARREST SOMEBODY.”

The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter. The White House did not immediately comment.

Since Durham’s appointment, he has cast a broad net in interviewing former government officials, including ex-CIA Director John Brennan. It is unclear when Durham plans to submit his report or how damning any of his final conclusions might be.

A report from the Justice Department’s inspector general in December knocked down multiple lines of attack against the Russia investigation, finding that it was properly opened and that law enforcement leaders were not motivated by political bias. But Barr has said he and Durham disagreed with the inspector general over whether the FBI had enough information to open a full investigation and, in particular, to use surveillance on a former Trump campaign aide.