Prelude To Detroit: Wray Says FBI Attrition Rate Is 0.4%

This is so sexy.

This is foreplay.

#maytheheavensfall

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DOJ & OIG: Statement by Attorney General William P. Barr on the Inspector General's Report of the Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation & Report

There is much more to come because there are the Ethics Referrals and all the other District Referrals from the OIG, including Durham, Huber, Mueller, SDNY, and the Detroit Grand Juries.

Oh. and Vladimir Putin has the other side of all of that which no one wishes to discuss, the trafficking of tiny humans.

And we have yet to find out how this all started...

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

OIG FISA Report - Crossfire Hurricane 

"Nothing is more important than the credibility and integrity of the FBI and the Department of Justice.  That is why we must hold our investigators and prosecutors to the highest ethical and professional standards.  The Inspector General’s investigation has provided critical transparency and accountability, and his work is a credit to the Department of Justice.  I would like to thank the Inspector General and his team.

The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken.  It is also clear that, from its inception, the evidence produced by the investigation was consistently exculpatory.  Nevertheless, the investigation and surveillance was pushed forward for the duration of the campaign and deep into President Trump’s administration.  In the rush to obtain and maintain FISA surveillance of Trump campaign associates, FBI officials misled the FISA court, omitted critical exculpatory facts from their filings, and suppressed or ignored information negating the reliability of their principal source.  The Inspector General found the explanations given for these actions unsatisfactory.  While most of the misconduct identified by the Inspector General was committed in 2016 and 2017 by a small group of now-former FBI officials, the malfeasance and misfeasance detailed in the Inspector General’s report reflects a clear abuse of the FISA process.

FISA is an essential tool for the protection of the safety of the American people.  The Department of Justice and the FBI are committed to taking whatever steps are necessary to rectify the abuses that occurred and to ensure the integrity of the FISA process going forward.

No one is more dismayed about the handling of these FISA applications than Director Wray.  I have full confidence in Director Wray and his team at the FBI, as well as the thousands of dedicated line agents who work tirelessly to protect our country.  I thank the Director for the comprehensive set of proposed reforms he is announcing today, and I look forward to working with him to implement these and any other appropriate measures.

With respect to DOJ personnel discussed in the report, the Department will follow all appropriate processes and procedures, including as to any potential disciplinary action."

Review of Four FISA Applications andOther Aspects of the FBI's CrossfireHurricane Investigation 

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How The Russian Investigation Start? Attorney General Bill Barr: We'll let the chips fall where they may

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Judiciary Gets Judicial & DOJ To Help Investigate Judiciary On The Origins Of The Russian Investigation

Russian street named after Bill Clinton to help direct
Judiciary to the origins of the Mueller investigation

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is hot on the trail in finding out the origins of the Russian election interference probe and so is the DOJ criminal investigation.

But, have no fear, D.C. District Court Judge Beryl Howell has ordered the release of the sealed grand jury information of the Mueller Report, so Judiciary should be able to find out the origins of the Russian election interference.

I wonder if Judiciary is going to #sayhisname.

Maria Butina is free.

#perkinscoiesucks

Judge orders DOJ to release grand jury material from Mueller report to Congress

Bill Clinton in Russia waving at House
Judiciary to assist in finding the origins of the
Mueller Russian election interference
investigation, "Hey, over here, comrades!"

The Department of Justice (DOJ) must hand over to Congress certain redacted information from Robert Mueller's special counsel report, a federal judge ruled Friday in a major win for House Democrats investigating President Trump.

The opinion from D.C. District Court Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, ruled that House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee had proven that they have a justifiable reason for obtaining the records related to Mueller's grand jury now that they are pursuing an impeachment inquiry into the president.

And Howell ruled that the House does not need to authorize the Democrats' impeachment inquiry with a floor vote in order to be legitimate, in a full-throated rebuke of the president's attacks on the proceeding.

"In carrying out the weighty constitutional duty of determining whether impeachment of the President is warranted, Congress need not redo the nearly two years of effort spent on the Special Counsel’s investigation, nor risk being misled by witnesses, who may have provided information to the grand jury and the Special Counsel that varies from what they tell [the House Judiciary Committee]," Howell wrote in her decision.

The order directs DOJ to turn over all information that was redacted from the Mueller report in order to protect grand jury secrecy. That includes more than 240 redactions from the first volume of the report alone. Howell gave DOJ until Wednesday, Oct. 30, to comply.

A Justice Department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The White House and congressional Republicans have argued that the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, which has expanded to include a probe into whether Trump pressured Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Biden and his son, is illegitimate because it hasn't been authorized by a vote in the House.

But what about the Detroit Land Bank Authority
 gerrymandering & absentee ballots election interference?

The DOJ echoed that argument to the district court last month, writing in a filing that “impeachments of Presidents Clinton and Andrew Johnson were investigated in multiple phases with each phase authorized by the House’s adoption of resolutions.”

Howell rejected the Justice Department's assertion in her opinion Friday.

"Even were this statement accurate, which it is not, the manner in which the House has chosen to conduct impeachment inquiries encompasses more than past Presidents and no sound legal or constitutional reason has been presented to distinguish the House’s exercise of impeachment authority for a President from the exercise of such authority more generally," Howell wrote.

The House Judiciary subpoena is part of a legal battle being fought on several fronts between the Trump administration and House Democrats investigating the president.

The committee applied for a court order for the grand jury materials in July in order to continue Mueller's probe into Russian interference and possible obstruction of justice by the White House.

"Because Department of Justice policies will not allow prosecution of the sitting president, the United States House of Representatives is the only institution of the federal government that can now vote President Trump accountable for these actions,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said in a press conference at the time.

Nadler said on Friday that he's gratified by the court victory.

“The court’s thoughtful ruling recognizes that our impeachment inquiry fully comports with the Constitution and thoroughly rejects the spurious White House claims to the contrary," he said in a statement. "This grand jury information that the Administration has tried to block the House from seeing will be critical to our work.”

Trump has also been fighting efforts to obtain his tax returns, other financial records and documents related to his Washington hotel.

The president has shown no willingness to compromise on any of the document requests. This week, following an appeals court ruling uphold the House Oversight and Reform Committee's subpoena of the president's accounting firm, Trump's lawyers said they intended to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Also this week, in another case that seems destined for the nation's highest court, Trump's personal lawyers doubled down on their assertion that the president is immune from criminal investigation and prosecution while in office — a view that has been endorsed by DOJ.

Howell on Friday noted in her opinion that theory of blanket immunity for the president "has never been adopted, sanctioned, or in any way approved by a court."

Order Redacted Mueller Mate... by M Mali on Scribd

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DOJ: Response To House Judiciary On John Durham 2016 Election Interference & FISA Investigations

DOJ on John Durham's in... by on Scribd

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Attorney General William Barr Knows The Heavens Are Going To Fall

Barr knows they were all wrong.

WILLIAM BARR BLASTS MEDIA FOR IGNORING SURVEILLANCE AGAINST TRUMP CAMPAIGN

#maytheheavensfall

#sayhisname

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TRUMP: Memorandum on Agency Cooperation with Attorney General’s Review of Intelligence Activities Relating to the 2016 Presidential Campaigns

Someone questioned the significance of the Treasury and Energy in the 2016 Election Interference.

SIGTARP does TARP.

DOE does maps.

We are looking at the basic components of Voting Rights.

Issued on: May 23, 2019

---

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

SUBJECT:    Agency Cooperation with Attorney General’s Review of Intelligence Activities Relating to the 2016 Presidential Campaigns

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:

Section 1.  Agency Cooperation.   The Attorney General is currently conducting a review of intelligence activities relating to the campaigns in the 2016 Presidential election and certain related matters.  The heads of elements of the intelligence community, as defined in 50 U.S.C. 3003(4), and the heads of each department or agency that includes an element of the intelligence community shall promptly provide such assistance and information as the Attorney General may request in connection with that review.

Sec. 2.  Declassification and Downgrading.   With respect to any matter classified under Executive Order 13526 of December 29, 2009 (Classified National Security Information), the Attorney General may, by applying the standard set forth in either section 3.1(a) or section 3.1(d) of Executive Order 13526, declassify, downgrade, or direct the declassification or downgrading of information or intelligence that relates to the Attorney General’s review referred to in section 1 of this memorandum.  Before exercising this authority, the Attorney General should, to the extent he deems it practicable, consult with the head of the originating intelligence community element or department.  This authority is not delegable and applies notwithstanding any other authorization or limitation set forth in Executive Order 13526.

Sec. 3.  General Provisions. 

• (a)  Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
• (i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
• (ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
• (b)  This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
• (c)  The authority in this memorandum shall terminate upon a vacancy in the office of Attorney General, unless expressly extended by the President.
• (d)  This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
• (e)  The Attorney General is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

DONALD J. TRUMP

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Cocktails & Popcorn: McQuade Got Frothy With Barr

"Sip sours slowly, as to not to make messes."

Oh my!

Barb is quite frothy.

We could easily solve all of this if Trump would just pull that IG report, which is obstructing justice in his back pocket.

#NeedMoreChaos

William Barr Delivers Chilling Message to FBI for Trump

A third probe into the origins of the Russia investigation, even to pacify the paranoid president, may cause real harm.

If you come at the king, you best not miss.

That’s the message Attorney General William Barr is sending to FBI agents, whether intentionally or not. Barr has authorized yet another investigation into the FBI’s conduct probing links between Russian election interference and the Trump campaign. Even though two other entities are already investigating the same matter, reports indicate that Barr has appointed Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate the origins of the Russia probe.

In doing so, Barr is playing into the hands of President Donald Trump, who has already characterized Durham’s assignment as an investigation into “how that whole hoax got started.”

The most charitable interpretation of Barr’s behavior in defense of Trump is that he believes strongly in a “unitary executive,” where the president can order any investigation he wants. But in his quest to protect the presidency, Barr is damaging our national security. His complicity in Trump’s efforts to disparage the FBI will make it more difficult for agents to do their jobs and could discourage investigations of those in power.

Certainly, the FBI, like any other government agency, should be subject to scrutiny. If you were to ask most FBI agents about internal investigations, they would tell you that they welcome such probes when done in good faith because they ensure not only accountability but also public trust.

Following the FBI’s aggressive surveillance of civil rights activists and war protesters in the 1960s and ’70s, safeguards and approval requirements were created to prevent such abuses. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was created to provide independent oversight of wiretaps conducted in the name of national security. The Domestic Investigations Operations Guide was created to provide detailed operational and approval requirements for each investigative step. FBI personnel are subject to DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates allegations of misconduct.

The FBI also has its own inspection division to conduct routine audits of compliance with polices and practices.

But the current outcry about the use of FISA surveillance and informants to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election is not sufficient predication for a criminal investigation. Those techniques are routinely and appropriately used in counterintelligence investigations against foreign adversaries. Former FBI general counsel James Baker has been speaking out about the FBI’s work on the Russia investigation, stating that the investigation was not a “coup” against President Trump, but instead was “about Russia. It was always about Russia. Full stop.” Failing to investigate Russian interference would have been a breach of the FBI’s duty.

Even use of the so-called Steele dossier in the FISA application for surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page is not the scandal that some describe. The dossier, compiled by a former British intelligence agent to be used as opposition research by Hillary Clinton’s campaign against Trump, was properly described as such in the FISA application, such that the FISA court had complete and accurate information when it authorized the surveillance. Judges, including those on the FISA court, are capable of discounting information based on potential biases as long as they are disclosed in the application, as they were here.

In addition, material from the Steele dossier provided only a portion of the facts included in the 66-page application that was used to establish probable cause to obtain surveillance authorization from the FISA court. Renewals of the application were approved from Trump-appointed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. There is no evidence in the public record that the FBI abused the FISA process in this investigation.

Nonetheless, last year, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz to investigate potential abuses in the FISA process following complaints by Republican lawmakers. Sessions later asked Utah U.S. Attorney John Huber to pursue any criminal conduct relating to the same matter, along with other matters relating to Clinton.

It is unclear why Barr does not simply await those results rather than appoint a new prosecutor to undertake another investigation. If Barr had wanted to expand the scope of the prior investigations, he could have done so without appointing a new investigator. If he were simply replacing Huber with Durham, who, by all accounts is a highly respected and experienced investigator, then he should say so.

Instead, Barr has created the appearance that he is launching another investigation to appease Trump.

But there is a significant downside to such a tactic. Barr’s appointment of Durham advances the Trump narrative that the FBI is run by a “deep state” that is engaged in a witch hunt and a hoax.

Barr has already contributed to the partisan conspiracy theory with the language he used at his press conference to announce the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report in April. Barr repeatedly used Trump’s talking point of “no collusion,” a term Mueller specifically said he was avoiding. Barr made things worse in his subsequent congressional testimony, when he used the word “spying” to describe the FBI’s tactics in the Russia probe. Despite his protestations that the word is not a pejorative term, and that “spying” is a word used by the media, it is not a word that government officials use to describe court-authorized surveillance.

Contrast Barr’s performances with the recent congressional testimony of FBI Director Christopher Wray. Wray rejected Barr’s use of the term “spying” as “not the term I would use.” Wray also stated that he did not have any evidence of any illegal surveillance into the Trump campaign. Trump responded by tweeting: “The FBI has no leadership . . . The Director is protecting the same gang . . . that tried to . . . overthrow the President through an illegal coup.”

Even after seeing this treatment, Barr continues to appease Trump, who campaigns on the narrative that he is victim of the deep state. Trump has called the FBI “a disgrace” that is “in tatters.” Harming the reputation of the FBI will make it more difficult for the FBI do the important work it does every day. When an agent knocks on a door for tips in a kidnaping case, will the resident help someone from an agency the president has warned him about? When an FBI agent testifies at the trial of a sex trafficker, will a juror trust that he is telling the truth? By disparaging the FBI, the president makes our country less safe. Barr is compounding the problem by contributing to this false narrative.

In addition to harming the effectiveness of the FBI, Barr’s complicity in Trump’s tactics may also have a chilling effect. By advancing the “investigate the investigators” mantra, Barr may cause the FBI to flinch next time it perceives a threat from powerful people within the government. He is incentivizing the FBI to sit idly by in the face of national security threats. The risk is that under Barr’s leadership, the FBI’s new motto might become “he who does nothing does nothing wrong.”

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Cocktails & Popcorn: Comey Told Barr To Stop Sliming

Yes, Barr should show us what he found, or Trump could just pull that IG Report burning an obstruction of justice hole in his back pocket.

The AG should stop sliming his own Department. If there are bad facts, show us, or search for them professionally and then tell us what you found. An AG must act like the leader of the Department of Justice, an organization based on truth. Donald Trump has enough spokespeople.

— James Comey (@Comey) May 18, 2019

#NeedMoreChaos

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BARR: Exclusive: Barr talks to Fox News in first on-air interview as Trump's AG - He Said Ad Hoc

I said ad hoc in court once.

It blew them away.

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DOJ: Barr Announces The New Conjugal Collaborative

There should have been trumpets.

I prefer the term, "Conjugal Collaborative".

Attorney General William P. Barr Announces Creation of the State and Local Law Enforcement Coordination Section

WASHINGTON – On May 2, 2019, Attorney General William P. Barr approved the creation of the State and Local Law Enforcement Coordination Section (SLEC-S) within the Office of Legislative Affairs. As of June 3, 2019, the SLEC-S will be responsible for ensuring that Department leadership is properly informed of state and local law enforcement’s top priorities, while working to ensure that the Department has an impactful presence within the state and local law enforcement community. SLEC-S will serve as the primary liaison with state and local law enforcement, and all supporting entities.

“State, local, and federal law enforcement officers are all a part of the same team," Attorney General William P. Barr said. "The events of Police Week serve as a powerful reminder that the vast majority of this team serves on the front lines — at the state and local levels. In order to further strengthen the Department of Justice's relationships with our state and local law enforcement partners, I am pleased to announce that the Department has established a State and Local Law Enforcement Coordination Section. This new Section will have primary responsibility for maintaining relationships with law enforcement throughout the country and will ensure that Department leadership maintains an active and ongoing dialogue with our law enforcement partners as we work together to develop policies designed to keep our country safe and secure.”

The SLEC-S will begin by developing a strategic plan for direct engagement between the Department and the state and local law enforcement community. The Section will work to ensure that the Department is represented at all relevant conferences and forums and that there is direct and timely outreach to survivors of fallen officers. The Section will also support Department components on relevant legislative and policy issues affecting local law enforcement partners. The Section will coordinate with the Department’s Intergovernmental and Public Liaison, who will continue to work with state Attorneys General and other state and local elected officials, and will include members from law enforcement components within the Department of Justice.

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Cocktails & Popcorn: The Legal Geniuses Thicken The Plot - Barr Welcomes Durham Back To The War Crimes Fun

Oh, this is going to be champagne buffet-style worthy because he never went away.

DOJ is coming from all directions, even from the pension side.

We already know what he is going to find, because he already found it, which is why the real show is going to be the art of the inquiry, because you already know there are going to be #coloredrevolutions and #clownfests, for they have no clue of what is coming....but hey, what do I know?

I know why Trump is obstructing justice by keeping that IG Report in his back pocket.

#sayhisname

Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry

John H. Durham
"Grrrrrr....ok, but this is the last time,
 so let's finally get it right."

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr has assigned the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut to examine the origins of the Russia investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter, a move that President Trump has long called for but that could anger law enforcement officials who insist that scrutiny of the Trump campaign was lawful.

John H. Durham, the United States attorney in Connecticut, has a history of serving as a special prosecutor investigating potential wrongdoing among national security officials, including the F.B.I.’s ties to a crime boss in Boston and accusations of C.I.A. abuses of detainees.

His inquiry is the third known investigation focused on the opening of an F.B.I. counterintelligence investigation during the 2016 presidential campaign into possible ties between Russia’s election interference and Trump associates.

The department’s inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, is separately examining investigators’ use of wiretap applications and informants and whether any political bias against Mr. Trump influenced investigative decisions. And John W. Huber, the United States attorney in Utah, has been reviewing aspects of the Russia investigation. His findings have not been announced.

Additionally on Capitol Hill, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he, too, intends to review aspects of law enforcement’s work in the coming months. And Republicans conducted their own inquiries when they controlled the House, including publicizing details of the F.B.I.’s wiretap use.

Thomas Carson, a spokesman for Mr. Durham’s office, declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for the Justice Department. “I do have people in the department helping me review the activities over the summer of 2016,” Mr. Barr said in congressional testimony on May 1, without elaborating.

Mr. Durham, who was nominated by Mr. Trump in 2017 and has been a Justice Department lawyer since 1982, has conducted special investigations under administrations of both parties. Attorney General Janet Reno asked Mr. Durham in 1999 to investigate the F.B.I.’s handling of a notorious informant: the organized crime leader James (Whitey) Bulger.

In 2008, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey assigned Mr. Durham to investigate the C.I.A.’s destruction of videotapes in 2005 showing the torture of terrorism suspects. A year later, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. expanded Mr. Durham’s mandate to also examine whether the agency broke any laws in its abuses of detainees in its custody.

Mr. Barr has signaled his concerns about the Russia investigation during congressional testimony, particularly the surveillance of Trump associates. “I think spying did occur,” he said. “The question is whether it was adequately predicated. And I’m not suggesting that it wasn’t adequately predicated. But I need to explore that.”

His use of the term “spying” to describe court-authorized surveillance aimed at understanding a foreign government’s interference in the election touched off criticism that he was echoing politically charged accusations by Mr. Trump and his Republican allies that the F.B.I. unfairly targeted the Trump campaign.

Last week, the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, defended the bureau, saying he was unaware of any illegal surveillance and refused to call agents’ work “spying.” Former F.B.I. and Justice Department officials have defended the genesis of the investigation, saying it was properly predicated.

Yet Mr. Durham’s role — essentially giving him a special assignment but no special powers — also appeared aimed at sidestepping the rare appointment of another special counsel like Robert S. Mueller III, a role that allows greater day-to-day independence.

Mr. Trump and House Republicans have long pushed senior Justice Department officials to appoint one to investigate the president’s perceived political enemies and why Mr. Trump’s associates were under surveillance.

Mr. Trump’s calls to investigate the investigators have grown after the findings from Mr. Mueller were revealed last month. Mr. Mueller’s investigators cited “insufficient evidence” to determine that the president or his advisers engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Russia.

The Mueller report reaffirmed that the F.B.I. opened its investigation based on legitimate factors, including revelations that a Trump campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, had told a diplomat from Australia, a close American ally, that he was informed that the Russians had stolen Democratic emails.

“It would have been highly, highly inappropriate for us not to pursue it — and pursue it aggressively,” James Baker, who was the F.B.I.’s general counsel in 2016, said in an interview on Friday

As part of the early Russia inquiry, the F.B.I. investigated four Trump associates: Mr. Papadopoulos; Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign chairman; Michael T. Flynn, the president’s first national security adviser; and Carter Page, another campaign foreign policy adviser.

Mr. Flynn and Mr. Papadopoulos later pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. as part of the inquiry; Mr. Manafort was also convicted of tax fraud and other charges brought by the special counsel, who took over the investigation in May 2017, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

F.B.I. agents and federal prosecutors also obtained approval from the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to wiretap Mr. Page after he left the campaign. Mr. Trump’s allies have pointed to the warrant as major evidence that law enforcement officials were abusing their authority, but the investigation was opened based on separate information and the warrant was one small aspect in a sprawling inquiry that grew to include more than 2,800 subpoenas, nearly 500 search warrants and about 500 witness interviews.

Law enforcement officials have also drawn intense criticism for using an informant — a typical investigative step — to secretly report on Mr. Page and Mr. Papadopoulos after they left the campaign and for relying on Democrat-funded opposition research compiled into a dossier by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer who was also an F.B.I. informant.

Investigators cited the dossier in a lengthy footnote in its application for permission to wiretap Mr. Page, alerting the court that the person who commissioned Mr. Steele’s research was “likely looking for information to discredit” the Trump campaign.

The inspector general is said to be examining whether law enforcement officials intentionally misled the intelligence court, which also approved three renewals of the warrant. The last application in June 2017 was signed by Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, who defended the decision last month in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Horowitz is also said to be scrutinizing how the F.B.I. handled Mr. Steele and another informant, Stefan A. Halper, an American academic who taught in Britain. Agents asked Mr. Halper to determine whether Mr. Page and Mr. Papadopoulos were in contact with Russians. Mr. Barr has said the inspector general could finish his inquiry in May or June.

Mr. Durham is also investigating whether Mr. Baker made unauthorized disclosures to the news media, according to two House Republicans closely allied with Mr. Trump, Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who disclosed in a letter to Mr. Durham in January that they had learned of that inquiry.

While they implied that it was related to the Russia investigation, another witness in Mr. Durham’s inquiry into Mr. Baker, Robert Litt, the former general counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, came forward to say that he had been interviewed and that the investigation has nothing to do with Russia. Mr. Baker said last week that he was confident he had done nothing wrong and would be exonerated.

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