William Barr testifies at the US Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]
Bloomberg: Barr Forms Team to Review FBI's Actions in Trump Probe
* Inquiry comes as House GOP pushes claims of anti-Trump bias
* Issue pursued as Democrats emphasize getting Mueller’s report
Attorney General William Barr has assembled a team to review controversial counterintelligence decisions made by Justice Department and FBI officials, including actions taken during the probe of the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016, according to a person familiar with the matter.
This indicates that Barr is looking into allegations that Republican lawmakers have been pursuing for more than a year -- that the investigation into President Donald Trump and possible collusion with Russia was tainted at the start by anti-Trump bias in the FBI and Justice Department.
“I am reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around all the aspects of the counterintelligence investigation that was conducted during the summer of 2016,” Barr told a House panel on Tuesday.
Barr’s inquiry is separate from a long-running investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters. The FBI declined to comment. Barr said he expected the inspector general’s work to be completed by May or June.
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WNU Editor: If the above report is accurate, the Justice Department inspector general's report on how the department handled this entire Russian collusion investigation will be completed by May or June. I am willing to bet that this report will lay the groundwork for Attorney General Barr to justify a more comprehensive review on how controversial counterintelligence decisions were made by Justice Department and FBI officials, and to hold people accountable for making them. This has the potential to shake the Washington establishment .... especially those within the intelligence community .... to a level that we have not seen in years.
