Inquiry into Russia probe carries political consequences

Attorney General William Barr says he doesn't expect a criminal inquiry into the origins of the Russian investigation to target former President Barack Obama or Joe Biden, the former vice president and President Donald Trump's Democratic opponent. But that doesn't mean the investigation, led by U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut, doesn't carry its own political consequences.

The inquiry could conclude this summer, meaning fresh revelations might be exploited by Trump in the heat of the election season to damage Biden or to attack the Obama administration. Buoyed by the Justice Department's decision to dismiss the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn and by the ongoing declassification of Russia-related material, Trump and his allies have looked to Durham's investigation as the last opportunity to hold accountable officials they say wronged the president.

Former Obama administration officials, meanwhile, find themselves scrutinized for actions they took four years ago while investigating Russian election interference. Durham is a veteran federal prosecutor with decades of Justice Department experience. He's investigated FBI corruption related to the handling of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger and later the CIA's harsh overseas interrogations of terror suspects.

He was named last year by Barr to investigate the origins of the Russian investigation. Durham's investigation is one of the multiple inquiries the department has undertaken in connection with the FBI's probe into potential coordination between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. Those include an internal review of the Justice Department's handling of the Flynn investigation and an inspector general report that was issued last December.

Unlike those inquiries, which were focused on Justice Department employees, Durham's mandate is much broader, spanning the activities of the CIA and other agencies across government. Durham has been scrutinizing the intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the election in support of Trump, and what information the government had when it reached that conclusion.

Barr has said the inquiry is far broader than just the FBI's flawed applications to monitor a former Trump campaign adviser and covers actions taken after the election, too.