Barr appoints Durham special counsel to keep investigating Russia probe origins under new administration

WASHINGTON (AP) – Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump- ussia investigation, giving him the authority of a special counsel to allow him to complete his work without being easily fired. Barr told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he had appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as a special counsel in October under the same federal statute that governed special counsel Robert Mueller’s in the original Russia probe. He said Durham’s investigation has been narrowing to focus more on the conduct of FBI agents who worked on the probe of allegations of cooperation between the Trump team and Russians in the 2016 presidential campaign.