A deputy to former special counsel Robert Mueller is urging Justice Department employees not to cooperate in the two investigations of the Obama administration’s probe of now-debunked Trump-Russia collusion.
Andrew Weissman, an ex-DOJ official who became known as Mueller’s “pit bull” during the Russia probe, contended such involvement would be political.
“Justice Department employees, in meeting their ethical and legal obligations, should be well advised not to participate in any such effort,” he wrote in a New York Times op-ed along with former Department of Defense special counsel Ryan Goodman.
Attorney General William Barr has appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham to conduct what has now become a criminal investigation of the origins of the Obama administration’s Operation Crossfire Hurricane. He also has appointed U.S. Attorney John Bash to investigate “unmasking” requests by Obama administration officials targeting Trump associates.
Weissmann noted the presidential election is 90 days away, and the two investigations show Barr is poised to “trample” written policy that “no action be influenced by politics and an unwritten norm urging officials to defer publicly charging or taking any other overt investigative steps or disclosures that could affect a coming election,” reported the Washington Examiner.
Weissmann and Goodman claim there is no urgency in the cases. The president’s critics already have expressed worry that the investigations will reveal an “October surprise” that would negatively impact presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
The op-ed even suggested that DOJ employees quit and take their political message directly to the American public.
“What can be done if Mr. Barr seeks to take actions in service of the president’s political ambitions?” they wrote. “There are a variety of ways for Justice Department employees in the Trump era to deal with improper requests. Employees who witness or are asked to participate in such political actions — who all swore an oath to the Constitution and must obey department policies — can refuse, report and, if necessary, resign. Other models include speaking with Congress under subpoena or resigning and then communicating directly to the public. Reputable organizations are at the ready to advise whistle-blowers about the risks and benefits of pursuing these paths.”
The focus of Durham’s criminal investigation is the Obama administration’s use of intelligence agencies to spy on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
What’s already known is that the now-debunked Steele dossier, a political opposition research document funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign, was used as evidence to obtain surveillance warrants.
This week President Trump said that what has been uncovered is “breathtaking.”
Just the News reported the president spoke late Tuesday on the issue.
“I caught them, we caught them spying, using the intelligence apparatus of our country to spy on an opponent or an opposing party’s campaign both before and after the election,” Trump explained in an interview with Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs.
“I do hear it is breathtaking what they found. That’s all I can say, breathtaking. And hopefully it will come out soon. But it is beyond what anybody ever thought even possible,” the president said.
The comments:
Sounds like Durham is done! Trump has seen the goods!
BREATHTAKING! pic.twitter.com/eNOuqzQWHH
— (@theconservador) August 4, 2020
The full interview:
Fox News host Sean Hannity recently said Democrats are “scared to death” of what Durham is uncovering in his investigation.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reported Barr confirmed that Durham is looking into whether Russian operatives fed disinformation to Christopher Steele, who then put it in his report and gave it to Democrats.
“I think that’s one of the most troubling aspects of this whole thing,” Barr said in a recent interview.
The collusion allegations were debunked by the two-years-plus investigation of Mueller.
But Barr said Mueller “ignored” evidence that Russian intelligence operatives might have fed disinformation to Steele.
Durham’s conclusions are expected within months and could come before the November election.
While Barr has said Obama and Joe Biden are not targets of the probe, former U.S. attorney Joseph diGenova says the two will be shamed nevertheless.
“I happen to believe that the public shaming of former President Obama and Vice President Biden is far more important than indicting them,” he said in an interview with Boston radio host Howie Carr.
Barr had explained: “There’s a difference between an abuse of power and a federal crime. Not every abuse of power, no matter how outrageous, is necessarily a federal crime.
“Now, as to President Obama and Vice President Biden, whatever their level of involvement, based on the information I have today, I don’t expect Mr. Durham’s work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man. Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others,” Barr said.
