Trump is ‘so proud’ of Attorney General Bill Barr for investigating how ‘hoax’ Russia probe started but insists he never asked him to do it
President Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday that he did not direct Attorney General William Barr to open an investigation into how the Russia probe was started.
‘No, I didn’t ask him to do that,’ Trump told reporters outside the White House before departing for Louisiana Tuesday morning. ‘I didn’t know it, but I think it’s a great thing that he did it.’
‘It was the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the people of this country,’ Trump said in reference to the Russia investigation. ‘And you know what, I am so proud of our attorney general that he is looking into it. I think it’s great. I did not know about it, no.’
Barr appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham to investigate the origins of the Russia probe, it was revealed in several reports Monday.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is ‘so proud’ of Attorney General Bill Barr for appointing a federal prosecutor to investigate the origins of the Russia probe
While speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he did not direct his attorney general to open the investigation, but said it’s a ‘great thing that he did’
Barr appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham to investigate whether the FBI’s methods of collecting intelligence on Trump’s 2016 campaign were legal
Durham will examine whether the FBI’s methods of collecting intelligence on Trump’s 2016 campaign, which ultimately led to the investigation, were legal.
Previously, Durham served as a special prosecutor investigating improper behavior by intelligence officials.
The attorney general signaled during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month that he wanted to review the law enforcement agency’s surveillance of the Trump campaign. He said ‘spying did occur,’ but clarified that it was not necessarily illegal spying.
Barr testified before the committee following the release of a redacted-version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report.
Initially, Barr issued a four-page summary of the 448-page report, and later gave Congress a version where 10 per cent was blacked out for various reasons.
The report found that Trump, including those within his campaign and administration, had not conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. It did, however, outline 10 ‘episodes’ where the president could have potentially attempted to obstruct justice throughout the investigation.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have subpoenaed Barr to produce the full, unredacted report, complete with grand jury testimony. When he refused, the committee said it would hold Barr in contempt of Congress.