the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, President Trump this week gave Attorney General William Barr sweeping new powers to examine and possibly release classified material related to the Justice Department’s inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation.Barr said last month he would examine the “genesis and conduct” of the Russia probe, adding that he believed the Trump campaign was “spied” on and wanted to ensure it was “adequately predicated.”
President Trump’s decision to empower Attorney General William Barr with sweeping declassification authorities has seeded a simmering conflict between the Department of Justice and the intelligence community that centers on the president’s long-held objections to investigations launched into links between his 2016 campaign and Russia. President Trump on Thursday granted Barr “full and complete authority” to declassify government secrets and instructed the intelligence community to “quickly and fully” cooperate with Barr’s review of the investigation into Russia’s 2016 interference.
In doing so, the president is allowing Barr to declassify information of which other agencies — including the CIA, FBI and NSA — are the custodians, and whose public release would typically be determined by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Barr was also given the authority to unilaterally declassify materials related to the investigation, allowing him to “direct” intelligence officials to declassify them. Such documents usually go through an interagency process to determine what can be declassified and released publicly, and the agency where the intelligence originated has to sign off on the final declassification.The White House memo sent to intelligence agencies on Thursday said Barr should, “to the extent he deems it practicable,” consult with intelligence officials before declassifying certain materials.
The move affords Barr considerable new powers to view and potentially release highly classified material gathered by the FBI and CIA in the course of the Russia investigation.
The White House signaled that information uncovered by Barr’s investigation will be made public, and granted Barr the authority to declassify materials related to it. The White House said it would “ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election.”