Attorney General William Barr accused the media in a new interview of being uninterested in finding out about the origins of the Trump-Russia probe,\u2026<\/b>
\nAttorney General William Barr accused the media in a new interview of being uninterested in finding out about the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, and of shirking their duty as watchdogs for the public.
\u201cNormally the media would be interested in letting the sunshine in and finding out what the truth is,\u201d Barr said in an interview with CBS News. \u201cAnd usually the media doesn\u2019t care that much about protecting intelligence sources and methods. But I do and I will.\u201d
Barr was discussing his plans for declassification of documents related to the surveillance activities against the Trump campaign during the Russia investigation.
President Donald Trump ordered the heads of various government agencies, including the FBI and CIA, to provide materials to Barr. He also granted Barr the authority to declassify documents as he sees fit.
The decision generated heavy criticism from former intelligence officials, TV pundits and some journalists.
The New York Times, Politico, The Washington Post, and other outlets published stories that quoted former intelligence officials fretting that the declassification order would allow Barr to disclose the identities of confidential sources used in the Russia investigation. The Times article asserted that the CIA is concerned that the declassification order will lead to the unmasking of a sensitive Kremlin source close to Vladimir Putin.
The Times reported that the source, which the CIA has cultivated for years, provided the information that Putin directed the election interference in 2016.
WATCH:
Former CIA Director John Brennan responded to Trump\u2019s order on May 24, saying that he was worried that Barr would release information on sources and methods in \u201cwilly nilly\u201d fashion.
\u201cThe concern is that very, very precious source and methods of the United States intelligence community as well as our partners and allies abroad \u2014 those who share this sensitive information with us,\u201d said Brennan.
But Barr dismissed that argument, saying that he will consult with the heads of intelligence agencies before revealing any sensitive information.
\u201cI\u2019m amused by these people who make a living by disclosing classified information, including the names of intelligence operatives, wringing their hands about whether I\u2019m going to be responsible in protecting intelligence sources and methods,\u201d said Barr.
\u201cI\u2019ve been in the business as I\u2019ve said for over 50 years long before they were born and I know how to handle classified information and I believe strongly in protecting intelligence sources and methods.\u201d
Barr did not specify instances where journalists have published information about sources and methods. But as The Daily Caller News Foundation has reported, newspapers like The New York Times and Washington Post have published numerous stories disclosing classified information about sources and methods used in the Russia probe.
The Times published stories confirming that the FBI used former Cambridge professor Stefan Halper as an informant to make contact with Trump campaign aides George Papadopoulos and Carter Page. The Times also reported that a woman who posed as Halper\u2019s assistant was actually a government investigator.
The Post on April 11,2017 broke the story revealing that the FBI obtained a warrant to wiretap Page.
The government officials behind those leaks have not been identified. But there is some evidence that the CIA was involved in at least one leak of highly sensitive intelligence regarding the U. S. government\u2019s assessment of Putin\u2019s role in the cyber attacks against Democrats in 2016.
Peter Strzok, the former FBI counterintelligence official who opened the Trump-Russia probe, speculated in text messages that the CIA was behind one leak about Putin.
\u201cThink our sisters have begun leaking like mad. Scorned and worried and political, they\u2019re kicking in to overdrive,\u201d Strzok wrote in a text message on Dec. 15,2016. A day earlier, NBC News reported that the CIA believed that Putin directed the computer hacks against Democrats.
Barr also suggested in his CBS interview that the media has largely ignored the government\u2019s surveillance activities against the Trump campaign.
\u201cThe fact that today people just seem to brush aside the idea that it is okay to you know, to engage in these activities against a political campaign is stunning to me especially when the media doesn\u2019t seem to think that it\u2019s worth looking into,\u201d Barr said.
\u201cThey\u2019re supposed to be the watchdogs of, you know, our civil liberties.\u201d
Barr said in the interview that information he has received about the origins of the Russia probe and counterintelligence activities does not square up with what former intelligence officials have said publicly.
He also said that he has questions about the timeline of the investigation, which the FBI has claimed was opened on July 31,2016.
\u201cI assumed I\u2019d get answers when I went in and I have not gotten answers that are well satisfactory, and in fact probably have more questions, and that some of the facts that- that I\u2019ve learned don\u2019t hang together with the official explanations of what happened.\u201d
Barr appointed U. S. attorney John Durham to oversee an investigation of the government\u2019s surveillance against the Trump campaign.<\/p>\n