Official: Barr likely to consult with agencies on classified info

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr is likely to consult with the intelligence community on how best to handle classified material related to the start of the Russian investigation, though the orders he has from President Donald Trump don’t compel it, the top White House spokeswoman said on Sunday.

“We expect that the attorney general will consult with them on matters that he needs that guidance and advice from them,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Certainly they work in lockstep on a number of things. I don’t see this to be any different.”

Trump recently gave Barr the unilateral authority to declassify intelligence related to the two-year special counsel probe into the Russian interference in 2016 election.

“The bottom line here is there was a lot of corruption at the FBI and the DOJ,” said Sanders, according to a transcript provided by the network. She didn’t offer specific examples, but later said “there was an outrageous amount of corruption that took place at the FBI.”

“The president wants transparency and he’s given the attorney general the ability to put that transparency in place, make those decisions,” Sanders said, adding that there’s no reason to think Barr wouldn’t “do everything that is necessary to make sure we’re protecting important intelligence that is vital to our national security.”

“We’re not compromising national security here,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has emerged as one of Trump’s staunchest congressional defenders.