Barr: ‘Developments’ likely in Durham investigation this summer

Attorney General William Barr said Sunday that “developments” in U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Russia probe are expected this summer.

Barr told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that Durham is “pressing ahead as hard as he can” with the investigation, but he was surprised about the lack of public interest in his probe. 

“So that has been surprising to me, that people aren’t concerned about civil liberties and the integrity of our governmental process,” Barr said. 

“In terms of the future of Durham’s investigation, you know, he’s pressing ahead as hard as he can,” he added. “And I expect that, you know, we will have some developments hopefully before the end of the summer.”

The attorney general said the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the probe, but Durham has made progress. The investigation is expected to continue after November’s election but “what happens after the election may depend on who wins,” Barr said.

Barr also slammed the “mainstream media” for its “bovine silence in the face of the complete collapse of the so-called Russiagate scandal.”

Durham’s investigation follows Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report that found “significant inaccuracies and omissions” in the FBI’s application to a court to obtain permission to monitor Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. But the report also determined the FBI’s decision to investigate the campaign was not motivated by political bias. 

Durham is completing a separate report into how the FBI’s Russia investigation developed at the direction of Barr.