U.S. Attorney General William Barr strongly suggested during an NBC News interview on Wednesday night that there are more criminal charges coming in U.S. Attorney John Durham’s criminal investigation of the origins of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign.
NBC News reporter Pete Williams asked Barr: “Okay, would you say—it’s unlikely that there’ll be further criminal charges?”
Barr responded: “No, I wouldn’t say that at all, no.”
Is John Durham nearing the end of his investigation? WILLIAM BARR:I– I'm not gonna characterize exactly where he is. I'll just leave it at that–WILLIAMS: Okay, would you say– it's unlikely that there'll be further criminal charges? BARR: No, I wouldn't say that at all, no.
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) September 10, 2020
During a Fox News interview last month, Barr said that there were “significant developments” in the criminal investigation before the upcoming election.
“There are two different things going on,” Barr said. “One, I’ve said that the American people need to know what actually happened, we need to get through the story of what happened in 2016 and 2017, now, out. That will be done.”
“The second aspect of this is, if people crossed the line, if people involved in that activity violated the criminal law, they will be charged,” Barr continued. “And John Durham is an independent man, highly experienced, and his investigation is pursuing apace. There was some delay because of COVID, but I’m satisfied with the progress, and I’ve said there are going to be developments, significant developments, before the election, but we’re not doing this on the election schedule.”
“We’re aware of the election, we’re not going to do anything inappropriate before the election, but we’re not being dictated to by this schedule. What’s dictating the timing of this are developments in the case, and there will be developments. Tomorrow, there will be a development in the case – it’s not an Earth-shattering development, but it is an indication that things are moving along at the proper pace as dictated by the facts in this investigation,” Barr concluded. “When we feel we can prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, it will be charged, I can tell you that.”
During a congressional hearing in July, Barr was pressured by Democrats to commit to not releasing results from the criminal investigation before the election.
Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) asked Barr: “Under oath, under oath, do you commit to not releasing any report by Mr. Durham before the November election?”
“No,” Barr responded.
“You don’t commit to that?” Mucarsel-Powell pressed.
“No,” Barr responded.
“So, you won’t go by Department of Justice policy that you won’t interfere in any political investigations before the November election?” Mucarsel-Powell asked.
“I will be very careful—I know Justice Department policy,” Barr answered. “We’re not going to interfere. In fact, I’ve made it clear I’m not going tolerate interference.”
In June, Barr told Fox News that he was “very troubled” by what Durham has uncovered during the criminal investigation, saying, “for the first time in American history, the police organizations and the national security organizations were used to spy on a campaign and there was no basis for it.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.