Barr critical of FBI’s Russia probe
Attorney general says foundation for Trump investigation was ‘bogus’
Washington — Attorney General William Barr leveled blistering criticism at how the Russia investigation was conducted, saying Tuesday that it was based on a “bogus narrative” that the Trump campaign might have conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.
Barr spoke to NBC News one day after the release of a Justice Department inspector general report that found problems with the FBI’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, but also concluded that there was a proper basis for opening the probe and that it was free of political bias.
Barr, a vocal defender of President Donald Trump, said he disagreed with the inspector general that the FBI had enough information to open the investigation and particularly to use surveillance on a former Trump campaign aide. He said that law enforcement officials involved in applying for those warrants had withheld from judges what he said was key exculpatory information that they had received.
He also blamed the Obama administration for telling Russia not to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and not sharing the same warnings or concerns with the Trump campaign. The FBI discussed whether to give a so-called “defensive briefing” to the Trump campaign, but ultimately concluded that if someone in the campaign was working with Russians they could be tipped off and cover-up their potential criminal behavior, the report said.
“I think our nation was turned on its head for three years based on a completely bogus narrative that was largely fanned and hyped by an irresponsible press,” Barr said.
He said he saw “gross abuses” in the process of obtaining the surveillance warrant and “inexplicable behavior that is intolerable.”
He added: “The attorney general’s primary responsibility is to protect against the abuse of the law enforcement and intelligence apparatus, and make sure it doesn’t play an improper role in our political life. That’s my responsibility, and I’m going to carry it out.”
Barr’s disparagement and dismissal of a key finding of the inspector general’s report is likely to deepen the criticism from Democrats that he acts more like the president’s personal lawyer than the attorney general. Barr has enthusiastically embraced Trump’s political agenda and faced intense criticism after he cast special counsel Robert Mueller’s report as a vindication for the president and launched a probe to investigate the investigators— something Trump has repeatedly said should happen.
During an appearance at a Wall Street Journal event in Washington, Barr said he thought the evidence used to open the Russia investigation was “very flimsy.” He also criticized the FBI for not briefing the Trump campaign about its investigation and for withholding exculpatory information from the court that issued secret surveillance warrants.