It’s the question that has dominated politics for more than two years — what exactly happened with counterintelligence activities conducted during the 2016 election and the Russia probe.
Now, in his first interview since joining the Trump administration, Attorney General Bill Barr detailed how he plans to get to the bottom of the origins of the probe, his thoughts on James Comey, Robert Mueller and other issues related to the special counsel’s investigation.
Barr told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer in the interview Friday that one portion of the review — which he has tapped U.S. Attorney John Durham to lead — would cover the time period between Election Day and Inauguration Day, saying “some very strange developments” took place during that time.
Barr specifically was referring to the early January 2017 briefing intelligence officials gave then-president-elect Trump at Trump Tower, and “the leaking of information subsequent to that meeting.”
CEO of California-Based In-N-Out Burger Teases Major Expansion East
Masked Invaders Stage Terrifying Armed Attack on CEO’s Family Home: Both Daughters Shot, Wife Struck with Hammer
Carney aims for June deal with EU to define ‘associate member’ status in bid to undercut US influence
DOJ insists it just wants Alaska ballots preserved and isn’t seeking to change votes
BREAKING: Bessent and FBI Director Kash Patel Announce Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Arrests in Sweeping Minnesota Crackdown
Heroic Crack Shot Local Cop Sniper Who Saved Trump’s Life ‘Erased’ from News by Embarrassed Feds: Family
‘Biscuit’ the dog is latest dead felon to get their voting rights back from Spanberger, confused owner says
Fox News Campus Radicals Newsletter: A rare reversal, a Christian battle and a reality check
Appeals court rejects DOJ effort to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots, teeing up Supreme Court gambit
Polish president scrambles back from overseas trip amid Donald Tusk-led ‘coup d’état’ at police-swarmed Constitutional Tribunal
NYT Points to ‘Murky’ Detail in ‘Ilhan Omar’ Brother-Marriage Fraud Probe: The Man Who Married Her
Judge grills Comey’s lawyers over effort to dismiss new charges
Treasury flags $8B in suspicious foreign-directed transfers through US money services firms
Liberal court delivers immigration win for Trump as judge warns of ‘floodgates’ if law firm succeeded
Major Human Trafficking Sting in Florida Nets 281 Arrests – Including Disney Workers
At that meeting, Trump was briefed by intelligence and law enforcement officials on Russian election meddling — and was also informed by former FBI Director James Comey about the now-infamous anti-Trump dossier which included salacious allegations against him. Details later leaked to the press.
Barr also 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 pointed terms, he fired back at Democrats who have castigated him over his handling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report — calling Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s charge that he lied to Congress “laughable” and dismissing an attempt to hold him in contempt of Congress.
“That’s part of the usual … political circus that’s being played out. It doesn’t surprise me,” he said.
And the nation’s top law enforcement official provided new details about the recently announced probe into the origins of the Russia investigation, defending his decision to pursue it and stressing that many of the answers he’s gotten so far 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.
CEO of California-Based In-N-Out Burger Teases Major Expansion East
Masked Invaders Stage Terrifying Armed Attack on CEO’s Family Home: Both Daughters Shot, Wife Struck with Hammer
Carney aims for June deal with EU to define ‘associate member’ status in bid to undercut US influence
DOJ insists it just wants Alaska ballots preserved and isn’t seeking to change votes
BREAKING: Bessent and FBI Director Kash Patel Announce Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Arrests in Sweeping Minnesota Crackdown
Heroic Crack Shot Local Cop Sniper Who Saved Trump’s Life ‘Erased’ from News by Embarrassed Feds: Family
‘Biscuit’ the dog is latest dead felon to get their voting rights back from Spanberger, confused owner says
Fox News Campus Radicals Newsletter: A rare reversal, a Christian battle and a reality check
Appeals court rejects DOJ effort to set aside 20,000 mail-in ballots, teeing up Supreme Court gambit
Polish president scrambles back from overseas trip amid Donald Tusk-led ‘coup d’état’ at police-swarmed Constitutional Tribunal
NYT Points to ‘Murky’ Detail in ‘Ilhan Omar’ Brother-Marriage Fraud Probe: The Man Who Married Her
Judge grills Comey’s lawyers over effort to dismiss new charges
Treasury flags $8B in suspicious foreign-directed transfers through US money services firms
Liberal court delivers immigration win for Trump as judge warns of ‘floodgates’ if law firm succeeded
Major Human Trafficking Sting in Florida Nets 281 Arrests – Including Disney Workers
“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.”
Story cited here.
