WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump granted Attorney General William Barr "full and complete authority" to declassify government secrets, and he ordered the intelligence agencies to cooperate promptly with Barr's audit of the investigation into Russian election interference in 2016.
Barr requested the authority to make his own declassification decisions in the course of that review, according to a White House memorandum released late Thursday.
"Today's action will ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions," the White House said in a statement, which Trump then tweeted.
The president has repeatedly called the investigation of his campaign a "political witch hunt."
His Republican allies in Congress who have reviewed some of the investigative files argue that the FBI investigation was opened based on flimsy and questionable evidence of wrongdoing, and that surveillance of campaign advisers to Trump was improper.
Barr has already asked John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to examine the origins of the Russia investigation to determine whether intelligence and surveillance methods used during the probe were lawful and appropriate. Still, Barr has been directly involved, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly, and is also working with CIA Director Gina Haspel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Typically, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence coordinates declassification work by contacting various agencies where classified material originated to get their input on what should be released or not disclosed based on legal exemptions. The president, however, has the authority to declassify anything he wants.
Trump explicitly delegated Barr with declassification power -- noting it would not automatically extend to another attorney general -- and only for use in the review of the Russia investigation. Before using the new authority, Barr should consult with intelligence officials "to the extent he deems it practicable," Trump wrote in a memo formalizing the matter.
The attorney general has said "spying" was conducted by the government against the Trump campaign -- an accusation that current and former FBI officials have denied.
Barr has been criticized by former FBI director James Comey and other former law enforcement officials for using the phrase "spying" to discuss how investigators monitored some Trump campaign advisers who had extensive contacts with Russians. His critics argue that surveillance was a proper part of a counterintelligence investigation looking at whether Russians were trying to influence Trump's campaign aides.
Trump's move is likely to further anger Democrats who have said that Barr is using his position as the nation's top law enforcement official to aggressively protect the president and attack his critics.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., accused Trump and Barr of trying to "conspire to weaponize law enforcement and classified information against their political enemies."
"The coverup has entered a new and dangerous phase," Schiff said in a statement released late Thursday. "This is un-American."
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who visited the Justice Department earlier Thursday, tweeted his approval shortly after the memo was released. "Outstanding," it says. "President Trump authorizing the Attorney General to declassify documents related to surveillance during the 2016 election. Americans are going to learn the truth about what occurred at their Justice Department."
Information for this article was contributed by Devlin Barrett, Carol D. Leonnig and Colby Itkowitz of The Washington Post; and by Zeke Miller, Eric Tucker, Mike Balsamo, Deb Riechmann and Jonathan Lemire of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/24/2019