Time to pay the Barr tab!!!
Attorney General Bill Barr, in an exclusive interview with Fox News, said the country must know “exactly what happened” with counterintelligence activities conducted during the 2016 election -- and he is determined to get to the bottom of the case.
In his first interview since becoming attorney general, Barr spoke to “America’s Newsroom” host Bill Hemmer during a visit to El Salvador for meetings with law enforcement officials. And he provided new details about the recently announced probe into the origins of the Russia investigation, coming on the heels of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's final report.
“The first step is to find out exactly what happened, and we're trying to get our arms around that, getting all the relevant information from the various agencies and starting to talk to some of the people that have information,” Barr told Hemmer, stressing that many of the answers he's been getting have been "inadequate."
While the decision to look back at the origins of the investigation has prompted harsh criticism from Democrats who previously have accused him of acting as the president's lawyer, Barr argued there's much yet to learn.
“I think there's a misconception out there that we know a lot about what happened,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is Bob Mueller did not look at the government's activities. He was looking at whether or not the Trump campaign had conspired with the Russians. But he was not going back and looking at the counterintelligence program. And we have a number of investigations underway that touch upon it -- the main one being the office of inspector general that's looking at the FISA warrants.”
Barr's review could prove as politically explosive as the Russia probe itself. President Trump is watching closely, and tweeted Friday morning that those who spied on his campaign committed "treason" and could face "long jail sentences." It comes as congressional Democrats ramp up their own investigations into the Trump administration, including looking at obstruction allegations in connection with the Russia case.
It emerged earlier this week that hard-charging U.S. Attorney John Durham was tapped to examine the origins of the Russia investigation, and has been working on his review “for weeks.” Bill Barr assigned Durham to conduct the inquiry into alleged misconduct and alleged improper government surveillance on the Trump campaign in 2016 as well as whether Democrats improperly colluded with foreign actors.
Durham will focus on the period before Nov. 7, 2016—including the use of FBI informants, as well as alleged improper issuance of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants. Durham was asked to help Barr to "ensure that intelligence collection activities by the U.S. Government related to the Trump 2016 Presidential Campaign were lawful and appropriate."
A source also told Fox News that Barr is working "collaboratively" on the investigation with FBI Director Chris Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and that Durham is also working directly with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who is currently reviewing allegations of misconduct in issuance of FISA warrants, and the role of FBI informants during the early stages of the investigation.
In his interview Friday, Barr said he stressed it is of the utmost importance “to find out what the government was doing during that period.”
“I've been trying to get answers to questions and I found that a lot of the answers have been inadequate. And I've also found that some of the explanations I've gotten don't hang together,” Barr told Hemmer.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bill-barr-russia-probe-explanations
Attorney General Bill Barr, in an exclusive interview with Fox News, said the country must know “exactly what happened” with counterintelligence activities conducted during the 2016 election -- and he is determined to get to the bottom of the case.
In his first interview since becoming attorney general, Barr spoke to “America’s Newsroom” host Bill Hemmer during a visit to El Salvador for meetings with law enforcement officials. And he provided new details about the recently announced probe into the origins of the Russia investigation, coming on the heels of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's final report.
“The first step is to find out exactly what happened, and we're trying to get our arms around that, getting all the relevant information from the various agencies and starting to talk to some of the people that have information,” Barr told Hemmer, stressing that many of the answers he's been getting have been "inadequate."
While the decision to look back at the origins of the investigation has prompted harsh criticism from Democrats who previously have accused him of acting as the president's lawyer, Barr argued there's much yet to learn.
“I think there's a misconception out there that we know a lot about what happened,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is Bob Mueller did not look at the government's activities. He was looking at whether or not the Trump campaign had conspired with the Russians. But he was not going back and looking at the counterintelligence program. And we have a number of investigations underway that touch upon it -- the main one being the office of inspector general that's looking at the FISA warrants.”
Barr's review could prove as politically explosive as the Russia probe itself. President Trump is watching closely, and tweeted Friday morning that those who spied on his campaign committed "treason" and could face "long jail sentences." It comes as congressional Democrats ramp up their own investigations into the Trump administration, including looking at obstruction allegations in connection with the Russia case.
It emerged earlier this week that hard-charging U.S. Attorney John Durham was tapped to examine the origins of the Russia investigation, and has been working on his review “for weeks.” Bill Barr assigned Durham to conduct the inquiry into alleged misconduct and alleged improper government surveillance on the Trump campaign in 2016 as well as whether Democrats improperly colluded with foreign actors.
Durham will focus on the period before Nov. 7, 2016—including the use of FBI informants, as well as alleged improper issuance of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants. Durham was asked to help Barr to "ensure that intelligence collection activities by the U.S. Government related to the Trump 2016 Presidential Campaign were lawful and appropriate."
A source also told Fox News that Barr is working "collaboratively" on the investigation with FBI Director Chris Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and that Durham is also working directly with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who is currently reviewing allegations of misconduct in issuance of FISA warrants, and the role of FBI informants during the early stages of the investigation.
In his interview Friday, Barr said he stressed it is of the utmost importance “to find out what the government was doing during that period.”
“I've been trying to get answers to questions and I found that a lot of the answers have been inadequate. And I've also found that some of the explanations I've gotten don't hang together,” Barr told Hemmer.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bill-barr-russia-probe-explanations
