DOJ inquiry into origins of Russia investigation has shifted to criminal probe

[GMDino]

Well, here we go.

This is what happens when the DOJ is told its job is to defend the POTUS.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/24/doj-inquiry-into-russia-investigation-shifts-criminal-probe/4091645002/

Quote:The Justice Department's politically-charged inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation has shifted to a criminal probe, a person familiar with the matter said late Thursday.


The move is all but certain to fuel fresh suspicion among Democrats that Attorney General William Barr is providing political cover to President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly disparaged former special counsel Robert Mueller's two-year investigation into the Kremlin's intervention in the 2016 election as a "witch hunt."


Barr launched the inquiry in April into whether federal investigators abused their surveillance authority as they sought to understand Russia's interference during the 2016 presidential campaign.


Barr later appointed Connecticut's chief federal prosecutor, John Durham, to manage the investigation.


It was unclear Thursday evening when the examination moved from an administrative review to a criminal investigation. The development was first reported by The New York Times.


Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, praised Barr after news of the criminal investigation broke.

“If true, this shows Bill Barr is doing EXACTLY his job: following the facts,” Meadows, former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said on Twitter. “Those who damaged America and broke the law to spread this hoax are about to face accountability.”


In a joint statement, Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, and Adam Schiff, D-California, two House chairmen leading wide-ranging investigations of the president, said the news reports raise concerns that Barr’s Justice Department “has lost its independence and become a vehicle for President Trump’s political revenge.”

"If the Department of Justice may be used as a tool of political retribution or to help the President with a political narrative for the next election, the rule of law will suffer new and irreparable damage,” the chairmen said. 

James Baker, the FBI’s former general counsel who oversaw the launch of the Russia investigation, and Michael Bromwich, attorney for former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, declined to comment.

So the DOJ is investigating the DOJ which will lead into an investigation into that investigation and so on and so forth as Trump's administration starts the beast eating itself.


Sad.


Oh, btw:

⁦@amyklobuchar⁩ has uncovered evidence that the DoJ buried the whistleblower complaint re Trump’s call to Zelensky by failing to refer the matter to the FEC.

Another low for the DoJ under Barr.#ImpeachTrump#ImpeachBarr#DoJCoverUp#DrainTheSwamp https://t.co/kwGien3LJZ

— Nancy⚖️?? (@nml423) October 23, 2019