The White House said President Donald Trump (L) directed all U.S. intelligence agencies to cooperate with Attorney General William Barr's investigation to ensure the public learns "the truth about the events that occurred" during the 2016 presidential election. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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May 23 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump directed the U.S. intelligence community Thursday to "quickly and fully cooperate" with Attorney General William Barr's investigation into the origins of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, according to the White House.
According to a statement by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, Trump also gave Barr "full and complete authority" to declassify information about the investigation.
"Today's action will help 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," Sanders said.
Last month, Barr told a Senate appropriations subcommittee he was going to review "the genesis and the conduct" of intelligence activities focused on the Trump campaign in 2016 as he believes it was spied on.
"I think spying did occur," he said.
Barr added that he wants to make sure law enforcement and the intelligence communities stay in their "proper lane."
Trump has long claimed that he neither colluded with Russia nor obstructed justice during the investigation into allegations that he had. He has also said that his campaign was "conclusively spied on," threatening "long jail sentences" for those who conducted the alleged intelligence activities.
"This was TREASON!" he said in a May 17 tweet.
Barr has selected U.S. Attorney John Durham to lead the investigation, CNN reported.
Mueller submitted his report, which took years to complete, in late March finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election in a "sweeping and systematic fashion" while stating that "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government."
