New Investigation Opened on FBI for 2016 Trump Surveillance
By The Blaze. After years of complaints from Republicans and allies of the president, Attorney General William Barr revealed that the FBI is being investigated over FISA surveillance on the Trump campaign in 2016.
“The Office of the Inspector General has a pending investigation of the FISA process in the Russian investigation, and I expect that that will be complete in probably in May or June, I am told,” said Barr during congressional testimony Tuesday.
The president alleged that he had been “wire tapped” by the former Obama administration, which later admitted that some members of the campaign had been surveilled during an investigation into claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election. . .
“More generally,” Barr said, “I am reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around of all the aspects of the counter-intelligence investigation that was conducted during the summer of 2016.”
(Read more from “New Investigation Opened on FBI for 2016 Trump Surveillance” HERE)
____________________________________________
Barr Redactions Could Spark More Displeasure From Mueller’s Team
By Politico. As Attorney General William Barr decides how much of Robert Mueller’s report to release publicly, recent reports about discontent within the special counsel’s team send a clear message to Barr: redactions are subject to debate.
Legal analysts and lawmakers overseeing the Russia probe — including House members who grilled Barr on Tuesday — say that even if Barr blacks out key portions of Mueller’s report — citing factors like grand jury secrecy, classification and confidentiality — before releasing it, Mueller’s associates might second-guess him via the media or Congress.
Barr “might not have quite as much discretion without some consequences here,” said Andy Wright, a former associate White House counsel to President Barack Obama. Wright said the message is that Barr “only has so much time and so much wiggle room” to delay and redact Mueller’s report before its public release without risking “further disclosures from that team.”
The reports about sentiments within the special counsel’s team started last week in The New York Times and led to follow-up coverage in other media outlets describing frustrations inside Mueller’s team over how Barr portrayed its work and declined to release detailed executive summary materials they’d prepared. (Read more from “Barr Redactions Could Spark More Displeasure From Mueller’s Team” HERE)
Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE
