Barr Opens Criminal Investigation into Beginning of Russia Probe

Attorney General Bill Barr takes his Oath of Office; Photo by Tia Dufour

Attorney General Bill Barr has opened a criminal investigation into the beginnings of the Russia Investigation.

The investigation, tasked with finding out how Russia influenced our election in 2016 and whether members of the Trump team helped them, successfully named dozens of conspirators in Russia who illegally tried to impact the election. It found dozens of contacts with people in Trump's orbit, including Donald Trump Jr., who met with Russians looking for dirt on Hillary Clinton and other Trump-opponents. And it uncovered dozens of felonies of people in Trump's inner circle.

Yet the President has characterized the investigation as a hoax from the start, despite the mountain of evidence that proves his assertion false. Despite this, Mr. Trump's third AG is doing what his others refused to: criminally investigate the people who found criminality from Trump's closest advisers.

There has been no public evidence what-so-ever that the Russia investigation started under criminal circumstances, or that investigators acted in an immoral or illicit way.

But Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr have decided that they would launch an investigation regardless, likely in hopes of changing the topic from Mr. Trump's impeachment offenses to Mr. Trump being a befuddled victim.