NEW: We obtained text messages that show the day before the transcript of Donald Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Zelensky was released, former Attorney General Barr texted U.S. Attorney John Durham “Call me ASAP.”
12 hours later, Durham asked for another “quick call.”
12 hours later, Durham asked for another “quick call.”
Durham was the federal prosecutor tapped by Barr to probe the origins of the government’s investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, and his inquiry was repeatedly touted by Trump allies as an effort to counter the narrative of Russian influence.
These text messages show coordination between Barr and Durham at a key moment in the Ukraine scandal that led to Donald Trump’s first impeachment, even as there appears to be little connection between the Mueller investigation and the Ukraine scandal.
americanoversight.org/document/doj-c…
americanoversight.org/document/doj-c…
Last year, we uncovered records showing that Barr & his top aides began meeting with Durham almost immediately after Mueller finished his investigation. There has already been significant concern that Durham’s investigation is inappropriately politicized.
cnn.com/2020/05/20/pol…
cnn.com/2020/05/20/pol…
Barr and Durham, contrary to normal DOJ practice, repeatedly discussed Durham’s ongoing investigation publicly, including to refute the findings of Inspector General Horowitz. nytimes.com/2019/12/09/us/…
Barr was unusually involved in Durham’s investigation — meeting with him 18 times in the 7 months after the Mueller investigation ended— undermining the principle that federal prosecutors are supposed to be free from political interference.
americanoversight.org/documents-we-o…
americanoversight.org/documents-we-o…
Late last year, DOJ veteran Nora Dannehy abruptly resigned from Durham’s team (and DOJ) amid reports that Durham might issue a politically-charged “interim” report before the presidential election. nytimes.com/2020/09/11/us/…
More: The new text messages we just obtained indicate that Durham’s investigation is still ongoing. In releasing them to us via FOIA, DOJ has asserted exemption (7(A)) — a provision of FOIA that allows them to withhold information in ongoing matters.
The messages also show contact between Barr and Seth Ducharme, who was then a counselor to Barr. DuCharme was at several of the Barr-Durham meetings. Email correspondence we previously received showed that Barr handpicked DuCharme to assist Durham.
documentcloud.org/documents/6890…
documentcloud.org/documents/6890…
The Trump administration is over, but we still don’t know the full extent of the damage done by President Trump’s abuses of power —including the politicization of the Justice Department —and we’re still working to uncover the facts. Track our efforts here: americanoversight.org/areas_of_inves…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
