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-Lurid Crime Tales-

Barr appoints special counsel in Russia probe investigation

2020-12-02

[WSLS] Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, granting him authority to complete the work without being easily fired.

Barr told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Tuesday that he had appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as a special counsel in October under the same federal regulations that governed special counsel Robert Mueller in the original Russia probe. He said Durham’s investigation has been narrowing to focus more on the conduct of FBI agents who worked on the Russia investigation, known by the code name of Crossfire Hurricane.

Under the regulations, a special counsel can be fired only by the attorney general and for specific reasons such as misconduct, dereliction of duty or conflict of interest. An attorney general must document such reasons in writing.

He said Durham’s investigation has been narrowing to focus more on the conduct of FBI agents who worked on the Russia investigation, known by the code name of Crossfire Hurricane.

The FBI in July 2016 began investigating whether the Trump campaign was coordinating with Russia to sway the outcome of the presidential election. That probe was inherited nearly a year later by special counsel Mueller, who ultimately did not find enough evidence to charge Trump or any of his associates with conspiring with Russia.

The early months of the investigation, when agents obtained secret surveillance warrants targeting a former Trump campaign aide, have long been scrutinized by the president and other critics of the probe who say the FBI made significant errors. An inspector general report last year backed up that criticism but did not find evidence that mistakes in the surveillance applications and other problems with the probe were driven by partisan bias.

Barr decided "the best thing to do would be to appoint them under the same regulation that covered Bob Mueller, to provide Durham and his team some assurance that they’d be able to complete their work regardless of the outcome of the election," he said Tuesday.

President-elect Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden
Joe <q>Foreign Policy Whiz Kid</q> Biden

Joe <q>Foreign Policy Whiz Kid</q> Biden

...Candidate for president in 2020. I'm not working for you. Don't be such a horse's ass....
's transition team didn't immediately comment on the appointment.

The current investigation, a criminal probe, had begun very broadly but has since "narrowed considerably" and now "really is focused on the activities of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation within the FBI," Barr said. He said he expects Durham would detail whether any additional prosecutions will be brought and make public a report of the investigation’s findings.

Durham's investigation has resulted in one prosecution so far: a guilty plea by a former FBI lawyer who admitted altering an email.

In an Oct. 19 order, obtained by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named, Barr says Durham is authorized "to investigate whether any federal official, employee or any person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence or law enforcement activities" directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, anyone associated with the campaigns or the Trump administration.

Posted by:trailing wife

#4 Just need one more special counsel, one specific for Ukraine, China and the Hunter Biden access pay-for-play RICO case.

Posted by: Theager Borgia1057 2020-12-02 15:36

#3 I suspect low level FBI agents caught in the net will tell tales about those in the upper ranks who were involved. And if a special counsel can only be fired for cause, this thing will haunt President Biden and his Justice Department -- should he actually be sworn into office — for his entire term.

Posted by: trailing wife 2020-12-02 11:38

#2 Appoint one to investigate Hunter, Frank and Joe Biden selling access and influence the US government. That's where current and future damage to America will originate. But that takes courage to withstand Washington power politics.

Strozk, McCabe, Comey et al. have been neutered and Carter Page's $75M lawsuit will take a bigger chunk out of their butts than the DOJ.

Posted by: Ulavirong Omeager2818 2020-12-02 10:45

#1 4 years after the numerous criminal, subversive, and treasonous acts. PLUS nearing the Statues of Limitations.

PLUS, BARR has focused it on the FBI, not the high profile names and targets that played key roles in the heavily perjured and anonymous Impeachment lynch mob?

Posted by: NN2N1 2020-12-02 04:52

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