DOJ's FBI Misconduct Probe Now Criminal Investigation - Top Officials Facing Charges
The probe could see top US intelligence officials testify, and even face charges
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Since the Justice Department expanded its probe into anti-Trump misconduct at the FBI on Wednesday, "new evidence" emerged which prompted the probe to transform into a criminal investigation.
The probe could see top US intelligence officials testify, and even face charges.
On Thursday, Government sources revealed that Attorney General William Barr's inquiry, led by US Attorney John Durham, had transitioned to a criminal investigation and is no longer just an administrative review.
Although it is not clear what potential crimes are being investigated, the prosecutors will have the ability to issue subpoenas if the designation of a formal criminal investigation is proven true.
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The witnesses likely facing subpoenas are former CIA head John Brennan and former FBI director James Comey.
According to sources, Durham is now "very interested" in grilling former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan, which confirms previous reports.
Brennan is a vocal anti-Trump critic who recently dismissed the idea of speaking to investigators.
Durham will be examining what led the US to open a counterintelligence investigation into Donald Trump's campaign, inclduing what roles various countries played.
Surveillance methods and intelligence-gathering methods used during the investigation will also come under scrutiny.
The news comes as Trump faces a Democrat-led impeachment probe for potential abuse of power, where he is accused of withholding military aid in order to pressure the president of Ukraine to launch an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
NYC Bar Demands Bill Barr Recuse, Resign, Or Face Impeachment Over Ukraine
— Neon Nettle (@NeonNettle) October 24, 2019
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Because Durham is a widely-respected veteran prosecutor, it could help protect the attorney general from allegations that he is motivated by Trump rather than justice.
In Italy, Barr reportedly told embassy officials he "needed a conference room to meet high-level Italian security agents where he could be sure no one was listening in."
A source in the Italian Ministry of Justice told The Daily Beast earlier this month that Barr and Durham were played a taped deposition made by Joseph Mifsud, the professor who allegedly told ex-Trump aide George Papadopoulos that the Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.
Earlier this year, former congressman Trey Gowdy advised Barr's investigators that the key lies in emails between Comey and Brennan.
Ex-South Carolina Rep. Gowdy gave a tip during an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity in which he pointed investigators toward former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey.
“So whoever’s investigating this, tell them to look for emails between Brennan and Comey in December 2016,” Gowdy said in an interview with Hannity.
Gowdy didn't reveal whether he has knowledge of particular information Brennan-Gowdy emails or if he was basing the advice on a theory.
