Donald Trump

Sarah Sanders Defends Attorney General Barr's Investigation Into Origins of Russia Probe

Last month, Attorney General William Barr said he would probe the “genesis and conduct” of the Russia investigation, weeks later appointing U.S. Attorney John Durham to examine just that

Attorney General William Barr's investigation into the origins of the years-long probe into whether President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Russia in 2016 took center stage Sunday as White House press secretary Sarah Sanders seemed to suggest there was only one possible outcome from it — the one the president seeks, NBC News reports.

Speaking with NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press," Sanders was pressed on whether Trump would accept the results of the investigation if Barr were to exonerate many of the F.B.I. and intelligence officials that have come under Trump's wrath for their role in the Russia probe.

“We already know that there was an outrageous amount of corruption that took place at the F.B.I. They leaked information. They lied. They were specifically working trying to take down the president, trying to hurt the president," Sanders said. "We'll leave the final call up to the attorney general and he'll get to the bottom of it. But we think Americans deserve the truth. The president's asked for that. And we should expect nothing less."

Todd noted that Sanders' answer "sounds like the president has already determined the outcome," adding that it did not sound like the White House wants Barr "to do his job."

Late last week, Trump ordered the U.S. intelligence community to "quickly and fully" cooperate with the Justice Department's investigation — his highest profile call to investigate those who were involved with the early stages of the Russia probe. The president also gave Barr the authority to unilaterally declassify information related to the investigation.

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