US AG Barr sets up team to probe origins of Russia meddling probe
Attorney general William Barr has assigned a top federal prosecutor to investigate the origins of FBI’s probe into Russia meddling in US elections and its focus on members of President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
US attorney for Connecticut John H Durham had been at work on this for a few weeks now before The New York Times first identified him as the official assigned by Barr to conduct the review, which the AG had talked about.
Durham is a veteran of such special assignments entrusted to him by both Republican and Democratic administrations of the past. He investigated FBI’s links with Boston mafia, and the torture of CIA detainees and the destruction of video recordings of them.
President Donald Trump and his allies had been pressing the department of justice to “investigate the investigators” since Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report found no evidence that any American conspired with the Russia meddling and that there was insufficient evidence to determine the president had committed the offence of obstruction of justice.
Asked if he had ordered Barr to appoint Durham, the president said to reporters Tuesday, “I didn’t ask him to do that ... I didn’t know it ... I think it’s a great thing that he did it.”
Trump has alleged he was spied upon, a charge that was repeated by attorney general Barr at a congressional appearance, and that it was all a part of a coup against him.