The Barr assignment comes months after Durham began investigating whether laws were broken by politically-motivated leaks of evidence and the identities of grand jury witnesses and targets
Posted on 05/20/2019 4:38:33 PM PDT by billorites
U.S. Attorney John H. Durham, who is examining the origins and propriety of the FBI’s Russia inquiry, has been working in Washington for months, looking into a related matter and quietly building a team of investigators, people familiar with the matters said.
The Courant and other news organizations reported Monday that Attorney General William Barr assigned Durham to examine the circumstances under which the FBI opened a disputed counterintelligence investigation into possible ties between President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and efforts directed from Russia to interfere with the U.S. election.
The Barr assignment comes months after Durham began investigating whether laws were broken by politically-motivated leaks of evidence and the identities of grand jury witnesses and targets.
The leak investigation became generally known in January, through letters made public in Congress accusing senior FBI officials of political bias. [Related] Columbine and addiction survivor Austin Eubanks made his last speech at a Connecticut opioid conference. He was found dead in Colorado last weekend. »
Durham is said by associates to have been at work as early as early last summer and was recruiting investigators months before Barr became Attorney General in January. In this Oct. 25, 2005 file photo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy speaks to reporters outside U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn. In this Oct. 25, 2005 file photo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy speaks to reporters outside U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn.
Former federal prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy agreed to join Durham two months ago, associates of both said. Before leaving the justice department for United Technologies Corp., Dannehy prosecuted complex political corruption, including cases resulting in the convictions of former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland and former state Treasurer Paul Silvester. In 2008, she was assigned to Washington to investigate whether prosecutors in the President George W. Bush justice department had been fired for political reasons.
One official said Durham’s leak investigation did not grow into the probe of the legal underpinning of the FBI’s Russia investigation. Rather, the official said Durham was chosen for because of his knowledge of the Russia inquiry gained through the leak investigation and his previous experience investigating the Central Intelligence Agency.
In 2008 and 2009, Durham was assigned by the justice departments under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama to investigate the CIA’s use of torture after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and its destruction of certain videotapes showing the torture of suspected terrorists.
Barr acknowledged in testimony to Congress a month ago that he had reservations about the FBI’s Russia investigation, in particular whether there was legal justification for the resulting surveillance of associates of President Donald Trump. [Related] ‘Game of Thrones’ star Kit Harington visits Connecticut bookstore while on vacation »
“I think spying did occur,” Barr told Congress. “The question is whether it was adequately predicated. And I’m not suggesting that it wasn’t adequately predicated. But I need to explore that.”
Barr said he planned to examine the "genesis and the conduct" of the FBI's investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Trump has railed for months against what he calls his unfair treatment by the FBI and the counter intelligence investigation that resulted in the inquiry by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Mueller’s report said the evidence did not support charging Trump or his associates for colluding with Russians, but said the FBI was justified in opening the counterintelligence probe.
Trump’s political allies have been demanding yet another investigation to investigate the investigators – at the FBI and within Mueller’s team.
Trump and Congress Republicans claim the FBI targeted his campaign political reasons. As evidence, they point to text in which top FBI officials express contempt for Trump and FBI’s decision to treat as credible information provided by a former British spy who had been paid, indirectly, by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Ed Mahony can be reached at emahony@courant.com.
Show boaters not!
Depressing. Working for months and the criminals are on TV shows dissing President.
What new probe?!
They already spent a lot of time and money and found nothing.
Now they want to do it again?
So at the time of his ‘appointment’ he was already in 4th gear and shifting into overdrive?
That’s likely to leave quite a wake in the Swamp. Hahahaha.
(It must suck to be a swamp critter these days)
The Barr assignment comes months after Durham began investigating whether laws were broken by politically-motivated leaks of evidence and the identities of grand jury witnesses and targets
From the article:
U.S. Attorney John H. Durham, who is examining the origins and propriety of the FBI’s Russia inquiry, has been working in Washington for months, looking into a related matter and quietly building a team of investigators, people familiar with the matters said.
Who charged Dunham to check out Weasel Baker?
What are the terms of that investigation?
When did it commence?
“Durham is said by associates to have been at work as early as early last summer and was recruiting investigators months before Barr became Attorney General in January. “
Gosh. What AG could possibly have put Durham to work early last summer?
“When did it commence?”
When James Baker was testifying before a Congressional committee last October his lawyer objected to a line of questions.
Baker’s lawyer told the committee that he had advised Baker not to answer because there was an ongoing DOJ investigation of the matter. And when asked who was leading the investigation the lawyer said “US Attorney John Durham”
Just guessing, but Barr seems to be disappointed with Huber, pushing him aside and replacing with Durham
Egg Zackery.
Don't say it, though. The natives will go berserk.
I’m keeping it secret. No one will know.
Sessions. Maybe just maybe Rosenstein. Rosey is one slippery dude. How do you survive a failed coup? Double cross those who plotted the coup in the first place. Rosey had to be the first to see that the rebellion was failing and immediately changed sides. Very Machivellian.
Gee, how do you suppose that happened?
Interesting information. I had questioned where the DOJ had much power to investigate the CIA and this article also answered that question...
Close. Very close. Team Trump likes Sun Tzu, and that means that if you believed the surface soap opera you might have been getting fooled. It pays to watch what Trump does as opposed to what he says or tweets. Trump can fire any executive branch appointee at will. And that includes any AGs that he bitched about while letting them continue in their jobs.
My personal theory is that The Donald flipped [RR] when he took him for a ride on Air Force One (to Florida, I think).
Remember that? And The Donald got off the plane and said what an awesome dude the weasel was?
In my minds eye, The Donald slid a folder across the table to [RR] just like they do in the movies. [RR] looked at it, gulped, and instantly become another Trump property.
One whose appointments for such investigations were ineffective and thus deserved to be fired?
Depressing. Working for months and the criminals are on TV shows dissing President.
They obviously have no fear of criminal jeopardy.
“Gosh. What AG could possibly have put Durham to work early last summer?”
Shhh....EEE’s going to be extremely aroused if he reads that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.