The Oklahoman

Trump wants probe of Russia probe

Investigat­ion will likely reveal `really bad things,' president says

- By Michael Balsamo The Associated Press

WASHINGTON —Investigat­ing the investigat­ors, the Justice Department is now scrutinizi­ng the government' s Russia probe as a criminal matter, raising Democrats' concerns that President Donald Trump may be using federal muscle to go after his opponents. Trump says to expect the probe to reveal “really bad things.”

Trump declared a new on Friday that the nowconclud­ed special counsel investigat­ion into Russian interferen­ce in the 2016 U.S. presidenti­al election was a “hoax” designed to discredit his presidency.

Word of the criminal investigat­ion comes as Trump is facing the separate House impeachmen­t inquiry examining whether he withheld military aid to pressure the president of Ukraine to launch an investigat­ion of political foe Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The person who confirmed the shift in the Justice investigat­ion to a criminal probe was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press only on the condition of anonymity.

It is unclear what potential crimes are being investigat­ed or what prompted the change. But the designatio­n as a formal criminal investigat­ion gives prosecutor­s the ability to issue subpoenas, em panel a grand jury, comp el witnesses to give testimony and bring federal criminal charges.

The Justice Department had previously considered it to bean administra­tive review, and Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticu­t, to lead the inquiry into the origins of special counsel Robert Mueller' s probe into Russian interferen­ce in the 2016 election. It' s unclear when Durham' s inquiry shifted to a criminal investigat­ion.

Asked about the investigat­ion on Friday, Trump said, “I can't tell you what's happening,” but “I will tell you this: I think you're going to see a lot of really bad things.”

“I think you'll see things t hat nobody would have believed,” he added.

Durham is examining what led the U.S. too pena counter intelligen­ce investigat­ion into the Trump campaign and the roles that various countries played in the U.S. probe. He is also investigat­ing whether the surveillan­ce and intelligen­ce gathering methods used during t he investigat­ion were legal and appropriat­e.

Trump has long slammed the investigat­ion, saying there was political bias at the FBI and the probe was all part of a “witch hunt” to discredit him and his presidency.

The chairmen of the House Judiciary and Intelligen­ce committees, which are leading the impeachmen­t inquiry, said in a statement late Thursday that reports of the change “raise profound new concerns” that Barr's Justice Department“has lost its independen­ce and become a vehicle f or President Trump's political revenge.”

“If the Department of Justice may be used as a tool of political retributio­n, or to help the President with a political narrative for the next election, the rule of law will suffer new and irreparabl­e damage,” Democratic Reps. Jerrold N adler and Adam Schiff said.

The change to a criminal probe was also criticized as groundless and dangerous by the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligen­ce Committee, which has conducted its own investigat­ion in largely bipartisan fashion in contrast to the House.

“Senate Intel is wrapping up a three-year bipartisan investigat­ion, and we've found nothing remotely justifying this ,” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia tweeted on Friday .“Mr. Barr's ` investigat­ion' has already jeopardize­d key internatio­nal intelligen­ce partnershi­ps. He needs to come before Congress and explain himself.”

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway insisted the review was not political and served t he public interest.

“Were other people at the highest levels of the DOJ and the FBI using that office and betraying the public trust to try to interfere in the 2016 election? Was there obstructio­n of justice? Was there destructio­n of evidence? I think we all have an interest in knowing that,” she said.

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