Former Attorney General William Barr gave his thoughts on where he believes special counsel John Durham’s probe of the origins of the so-called “Russiagate” conspiracy investigation will go during an interview that aired Friday.
Barr, who served as the second of two attorneys general under former President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital that he believes that Durham, whom he appointed in 2019, “will get to the bottom” of what really happened to kick off the probe of the then-GOP presidential nominee’s campaign in 2016.
He also said that the original Obama-era investigation and “collusion” narrative was a “manufactured scandal” that hampered Trump for most of his term.
“I think whether or not there are more indictments, I think Durham is going to get to the bottom of it as well as anyone can,” Barr, who was on to discuss his new memoir, “One Damned Think After Another,” said, adding that Durham will eventually release a “report that lays out the facts.”
“I do think that there will be, as far as humanly possible using the justice system, there is going to be a disclosure of the relevant facts,” he noted further. “Whether that supports more criminal indictments, I have no idea.”
But, he continued, “I certainly hope that people, if they did commit crimes, and we can prove it, that they’re going to be held accountable.
“And there is no doubt in my mind that is what they’re going to do if he feels he has the evidence,” Barr said of Durham and his investigative team.
Barr tapped Durham, then serving as U.S. attorney for Connecticut, to look into the origins of the Russiagate investigation. The initial probe and allegations of collusion led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who found no such evidence.
“I’ve never seen an adequate basis for launching a counterintelligence investigation against the Trump campaign,” Barr told Fox News.
Regarding most of the mainstream media and many Democrats, Barr said he isn’t sure that they are “ever going to accept the fact that this was a false scandal and was used in a partisan way against Trump.”
“The facts, you know, there was evidence of the Clinton campaign developing this, and the dossier, and the allegations about Alfa Bank and stuff,” Barr said. “They are essentially part of a campaign plan— a Clinton campaign effort — and they really just buried all of that.”
KNOW MORE:
Former AG Bill Barr Asked If He Would Vote for Trump in 2024