Bill Barr secretly flew to Italy to listen to a tape of vanished ‘spy’ who told Trump campaign aide Russia had Hillary’s emails
- Attorney General Bill Barr traveled to Rome where he met with top officials
- He was accompanied by U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut, who is heading the investigation of alleged FBI misconduct
- He is also reaching out to other foreign leaders in an effort to investigate the origins of the Russia probe
- An Italian source told the Daily Beast they heard a taped deposition by Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud
- Mifsud told former Trump advisor George Papadopoulos the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign
- During Robert Mueller’s testimony Rep. Jim Jordan said it was a good idea to ‘go back and actually figure out why Joseph Mifsud was lying to the FBI’
Attorney General Bill Barr is carrying out a global effort to glean information about the start of the Russia probe – and on a trip to Rome listened to a taped deposition of mysterious Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud.
But his effort, an international effort which President Trump publicly called for, hit a road block Wednesday when Australia’s prime minister indicating the government won’t provide information on the actions of Australian diplomat Alexander Downer, who provided the U.S. government information that helped trigger the probe.
‘It would be a very unusual thing to do and Australia would never do anything that would prejudice our national interest,’ Morrison told Sky News in Australia.
Barr, who has said he believes there was ‘spying’ that occurred during the campaign, has traveled overseas to meet with law enforcement as part of his efforts. The Barr Justice Department was revealed last month have decided not to prosecute after a whistle-blower made allegations that President Trump pressed the head of Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.
The Washington Post reported that Barr has also reached out to British officials for their assistance. Key elements during the probe took place in London, including some of Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos’ contacts. Ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele produced the golden showers dossier that features high on the list of Republican grievances about the probe.
Barr, who President Trump mentioned repeatedly during his infamous July 25 call withe the president of Ukraine where he sought an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden, traveled to Italy along with U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut, who is heading the investigation of alleged FBI misconduct.
While in Rome, he met with Italian prosecutors at a hastily-planned meeting, where the two officials were particularly interested in what the Italians knew about Mifsud, the Daily Beast reported.
Attorney General Bill Barr’s efforts to probe the events at the start of the Russia probe took him to Rome, where he listened to a taped deposition of mysterious Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud
Barr has tasked Durham, a seasoned prosecutor, with probing the start of the Russia probe and alleged FBI misconduct, following President Trump’s repeated public demands to ‘investigate the investigators’ of what he calls the ‘witch hunt.’
Mifsud, who features in key portions of the Mueller report, is described as offering ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton in 2016 to former Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
The Mueller report cites his Kremlin ties, including ties to a St. Petersburg troll farm that hacked the elections.
The Daily Beast cites a taped deposition that Mifsud provided after applying for police protection.
Mifsud may have surfaced in April, and Papadpoulos wife Simone Mangiante Papadopoulos tweeted an account that he had been ‘hiding in Rome’ for months.
When Mueller testified before the House this summer, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio grilled the special counsel on Mifsud, who he called ‘the mysterious professor who lives in Rome and London.’ He called him ‘the guy who starts it all,’ and grilled Mueller for failing to charge him, despite making false statements – and asked if he was Russian or western intelligence.
‘Can’t get into that,’ replied Mueller.
Malta-born Joseph Mifsud appeared to vanish after his role in the Russia probe came to light
Mifsud told George Papadopoulos the Russians had ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton
Simone Mangiante Papadopoulos tweeted about the professor’s reemergence
President Trump has demanded a probe to expose the ‘witch hunt
He scolded the former special counsel: ‘Maybe a better course of action is to figure out how the false accusations started. Maybe it’s to go back and actually figure out why Joseph Mifsud was lying to the FBI. Here’s the good news–that’s exactly what Bill Barr is doing. And thank goodness for that,’ Jordan said.
Trump also stated that he wanted Barr to go to other countries to find out what happened in the Russia probe.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told the Daily Beast: ‘Mr. Durham is gathering information from numerous sources, including a number of foreign countries. At Attorney General Barr’s request, the President has contacted other countries to ask them to introduce the Attorney General and Mr. Durham to appropriate officials.’