Attorney General William Barr has assigned a federal prosecutor in Connecticut to examine the origins of the federal Russia investigation.
U.S. Attorney John Durham in Connecticut has been chosen to lead the project, according to the New York Times, making it the third known federal probe dedicated to unearthing information about the genesis of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, which was later wrapped into special counsel Robert Mueller’s effort.
Durham, a Trump nominee who has been a Justice Department lawyer for decades, has prior experience working as a special prosecutor investigating alleged wrongdoing by national security officials.
Durham’s office and the Justice Department declined to comment for the story.
Barr has questioned whether the Justice Department behaved appropriately during the federal Russia investigation. He has also riled up Democrats with his talk about spying.
“I think spying did occur,” Barr said last month before the Senate Appropriations Committee. “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 has said he is working closely with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who is investigating alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse. U.S. attorney John Huber is also conducting an investigation into the federal Russia probe.
In Congress, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is spearheading a FISA probe.
