Sounds like interesting things may be coming.
Attorney General William Barr gave his clearest explanation yet of the various “investigations of the investigators” being carried out by the Justice Department.
In an interview with CBS’s Jan Crawford, Barr described what tasks U.S. Attorney John Durham, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, and U.S. Attorney John Huber have been assigned regarding the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation and the conduct of the DOJ and FBI as they carried it out.
Following pressure from congressional Republicans, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in March 2018 that Huber, a U.S. attorney from Utah, had been picked to review any misconduct by the DOJ and FBI. Some Republicans had been calling for a second special counsel.
Huber’s long-running inquiry has long been shrouded in mystery, but Barr revealed Horowitz and Durham have taken over most of his responsibilities.
Barr said “Huber had originally been asked to take a look at the FISA applications and the electronic surveillance” but that he then “stood back and put that on hold while the Office of Inspector General was conducting its review.”
Barr said Huber “was essentially on standby” in the event that Horowitz “referred a matter to him to be handled criminally.” That apparently has not been necessary, as Barr said “he has not been active on this front in recent months.” Barr said Durham would now be taking over Huber’s role in handling any criminal referrals from Horowitz and Huber’s involvement with Trump-Russia matters was done.
Sessions had also asked Huber in 2017 to look into issues related to the sale of Uranium One and allegations that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had been improperly involved in the process, as well as broader claims of corruption at the Clinton Foundation. Barr seemed to suggest that what evidence Huber found, if any, may soon be revealed.
“The other issues [Huber has] been working on relate to Hillary Clinton” are “winding down and hopefully we’ll be in a position to bring those to fruition,” Barr said.