CIA 'Rattled' by DOJ Inquiry Into Russia Investigation Origins

The Justice Department’s review of the origins of the Russia investigation created “unease” at the CIA, according to a reporter who has followed its progress.

Uncertainty over what investigators are seeking and whether the inquiry has become a criminal investigation has prompted some CIA analysts who played a role in the intelligence assessment of Russia’s activities during the 2016 campaign to hire lawyers.

“It’s really not clear where he’s going with this, but a lot of people are very rattled. Those CIA analysts I mentioned had to hire their own lawyers because no one’s even sure whether this is a criminal investigation or not. And if it is a criminal investigation, what is the allegation of wrongdoing? No one I talked to can answer that,” Ken Dilanian said on Monday’s episode of Morning Joe on MSNBC. . .

A similar report was published by the New York Times that notes President Trump granted Barr expansive powers for the inquiry, but Durham lacked subpoena power and could only request documents and interviews when he was tasked with the review earlier this year because a criminal investigation was not opened. The report also states, however, that it is unclear whether the status of the review has changed.

“There’s a lot of unease at the CIA and disquiet about the notion of federal prosecutors going over and rooting in their files,” Dilanian said. “Not because they think they did anything wrong, but because these are sources and methods — some of the most highly classified documents and secrets in our government. And they are kept to a small set of people for a reason. It’s a need-to-know situation. And they’re questioning what is the need for John Durham and his prosecutors to go over and talk to them about that in the absence of any allegation of wrongdoing?”