Barr taps Durham as special counsel, pushing probe into Biden era

The attorney general revealed his latest move to dig into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Attorney General William Barr disclosed the move in a letter to Congress. | Jeff Roberson - Pool/Getty Images

Attorney General William Barr has appointed U. S. attorney John Durham as a special counsel to investigate the origins of the FBI’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The appointment formalizes Durham’s ongoing probe, but more significantly, would give Durham latitude to continue the politically explosive investigation after President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January.

Barr elevated Durham to special-counsel status on Oct. 19 but disclosed the move in a letter Tuesday to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Democrats have long viewed Durham’s efforts as political payback by President Donald Trump and his allies, seeking to deflect from evidence that the Trump campaign capitalized on the Kremlin’s efforts.

Since May 2019, Durham has been reviewing the FBI’s decision to launch the investigation of President Donald Trump’s campaign and its connections with Russia, a sprawling probe that became known as Crossfire Hurricane and which was later taken over by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump railed against the investigation for years, describing it as a “witch hunt” and a “coup” attempt, and his efforts to curtail the probe led Mueller to lay out significant evidence of obstruction of justice, which helped fuel impeachment investigations on Capitol Hill.

By saddling the incoming Biden administration with a special counsel, it ensures that Biden will have less flexibility to attempt to scuttle any ongoing investigation and could hamstring his choice for attorney general. Barr has been one of Trump’s staunchest allies in questioning the Mueller probe and has largely echoed Trump’s criticisms. But Barr, too, has earned Trump’s ire of late for declining to indict his political adversaries ahead of the election.

Designating Durham as a special counsel increases the political cost of removing him for a new administration, especially given that Democrats portrayed talk of removing Mueller as a step that would bring on a kind of political armageddon. Language Barr placed in the order naming Durham as a special counsel also seeks to make it more likely that the final report of his investigation is made public.

Durham’s ongoing probe has produced just one prosecution so far: a mid-level FBI attorney named Kevin Clinesmith who pleaded guilty to falsifying an email used to obtain a surveillance warrant against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Sentencing memos are due in that case on Thursday with sentencing scheduled for Dec. 10.

Trump allies were dismayed when Durham and Barr opted against issuing a report or additional charges before the Nov. 3 election. It now appears that Barr’s move to formalize Durham’s status came as complaints from Trump’s allies about the lack of action in the probe we... (Read more)

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