Critics worried Barr will reveal information to help Trump

W A S H I N G T O N — Intelligence professionals warned Friday that President Donald Trump's decision to give his loyal attorney general carte blanche to disclose still-secret material from the Russia investigation will let William Barr cherry-pick intelligence to paint a misleading picture about what started the probe.

The president claims his campaign was spied upon, though Trump administration officials have said they have no specific evidence that anything illegal was done when the campaign came under FBI surveillance that was approved by a court.

On Thursday, Trump gave Barr full authority to publicly disclose information about the origins of the investigation the president has repeatedly dismissed as a “hoax.”

“You have to get down to what happened because what happened is a tremendous blight on our country,” Trump said, adding that Barr is highly respected and will be impartial in reviewing documents. But Trump's critics are wary of leaving the decision of what intelligence to release — and what should remain hidden — in Barr's hands. Barr is a staunch Trump defender who Democrats say spun s pecial c ounsel Robert Mueller's report in Trump's favor, playing down aspects suggesting possible criminal conduct. Mueller has also complained to Barr about his handling of the release of the report.

That has prompted concern that Barr will take a similar approach to his review of the origins of Mueller's probe, releasing intelligence backing Trump's claims that it was politically motivated, while keeping classified evidence demonstrating the need for the probe.