Barr: John Durham picked to review Russia investigation origins for being ‘tenacious’ and ‘fair’ – Washington Examiner

Attorney General William Barr is speaking out publicly for the first time about selecting Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney John Durham to head up an inquiry into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation and the conduct of the Justice Department and the FBI.

“I was looking for someone who is tenacious, who is used to looking at sensitive material involving government activities, who has a reputation for being fair and evenhanded,” Barr said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday.

Barr explained why he thought it was important to task someone with rooting out the story behind the counterintelligence investigation into President Trump’s 2016 campaign. “Government power was used to spy on American citizens,” he said. “I can’t imagine any world where we wouldn’t take a look and make sure that was done properly.”

Democrats have criticized Barr for saying “spying” occurred on the Trump campaign, but the attorney general has defended its usage, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee this month that “it’s a good English word.”

A source told Fox News that Durham has been reviewing the origin of the Russia investigation “for weeks,” which would coincide with the end of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference. The counterintelligence investigation into Trump’s campaign was wrapped into that investigation when it began in May 2017.

Durham’s office had no comment for this report.

Since 1977, Durham has built up a reputation as a dogged and unbiased investigator handling difficult and controversial cases.

Durham led the prosecution of mobsters, including a series of high-profile convictions of the notorious New England Mafia. His corruption investigation of former Republican Connecticut Governor John Rowland resulted in Rowland finding himself behind bars following a guilty plea.

Durham was appointed by then-Attorney General Janet Reno in 1999 to investigate the corrupt connections between law enforcement officers in Boston with James “Whitey” Bulger and other associates of the Irish mob’s Winter Hill Gang. His inquiry ended with the convictions of former FBI Supervisory Special Agent John Connolly and former Massachusetts State Police Lt. Richard Schneiderhan.

In 2008, Durham took on a sensitive and controversial investigation into the actions taken by members of the U.S. government when then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed him to be a special prosecutor to look into the CIA’s destruction of tapes of detainee interrogations. The following year, Durham was selected by then-Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct a broader investigation into the CIA’s so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. Durham did not ultimately recommend criminal charges, and his report on the matter is still secret.

Though Durham is a Republican, he earned rave reviews from both of Connecticut’s Democratic senators, who urged Trump to appoint him to be a U.S. attorney for their state.

“John Durham has earned immense respect as a no-nonsense, fierce and fair prosecutor, and we are pleased that the White House has agreed with our recommendation that he serve as United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut,” Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy said in 2017. “John Durham has proven himself time and time again in some of the most challenging and sensitive cases.”

The two Democrats then celebrated Durham’s confirmation in early 2018, saying: “He knows how to try tough cases, having taken on organized crime and government corruption. He will be an outstanding U.S. Attorney.”

Durham also handled the possible criminal leak investigation surrounding former FBI General Counsel James Baker and others, an inquiry that may still be ongoing. Last week, Baker confirmed the existence of an investigation into him, likely the one led by Durham, but declined to provide many specifics. “I am confident that I did nothing wrong and nothing illegal,” Baker said.

Robert Litt, the former general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said in January 2019 that he had “first-hand knowledge” of this particular investigation because he’d been personally interviewed by Durham. Litt said he was “not at liberty to disclose what Durham was investigating” but that “it concerned events that occurred long before the 2016 election and were unrelated to Russia or the dossier.”

Durham’s current assignment is a “broad review” of the DOJ’s and FBI’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation and not a “criminal investigation” at this time, a source told the Journal.

Aside from the investigation by Durham, U.S. Attorney John Huber is also investigating possible misconduct by government officials, although the status of that inquiry is unclear. DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz is investigating allegations of possible Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse and the FBI’s handling of the dossier put together by British ex-spy Christopher Steele. Barr said Horowitz will be finished in either May or June.