Donald Trump has asked his ‘guy’….
Attorney General Barr to go thru the Intelligence Community to find out what they did during the 2016 investigations of his actions and the Russians…
The directive from Trump gives Barr authorisation to go wherever he want to go, including into classified sources and methods….
This has alarmed the intelligence community here and across the globe…
Barr IS acting ONLY in Trump’s interest, which worries everyone….
Democrats seem to be saying that they have the intelligence communities back….
THIS IS a repeat of the early Trump admin days where distrust is the thing between an American President, the US Government and Congress…
The top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence committees notified the nation’s spy chiefs Friday that they intend to closely monitor efforts by Attorney General William P. Barr to review the government probe of President Trump’s 2016 campaign — and expect them to inform lawmakers about the extent to which their agencies are cooperating.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) sent letters to the heads of the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency, as well as the director of national intelligence, demanding in-person briefings to discuss what materials Barr has sought thus far and that copies are to be shared with the committee. He insisted, too, that they notify the panel in advance if Barr intends to declassify anything, noting when they disagreed with his orders and why.
In a separate letter, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.), asked the spy chiefs to “immediately” inform the panel “if you see signs” that Barr’s inquiry risks compromising intelligence-gathering sources and methods, affecting relationships with foreign liaisons, or adversely impacting the intelligence community’s workforce. He also asked that they notify the panel of any “selective declassification” that appeared politically motivated.
Trump last week granted Barr “full and complete authority” to declassify government secrets and directed the intelligence agencies to comply swiftly with the attorney general’s audit of their work related to the 2016 election. The move has drawn outrage from congressional Democrats, who continue to clash with the White House over its refusal to cooperate with their investigations of the president, and it has unnerved current and former FBI officials and those in the intelligence community who have denied Trump’s claims that “spying” was conducted on his campaign.
[Trump gives Barr power to declassify intelligence related to Russia probe]
Barr’s inquiry “represents a disturbing effort by the President and the Attorney General to politicize the Intelligence Community and law enforcement,” Schiff wrote in his letters, saying Trump and Barr were “engaged in a public campaign to further a conspiracy theory” and their efforts could undermine national security….
image…of Sen. Warner. and Rep. Schiff…..Vox