Barr To Bartiromo: Durham Slowed By Covid Pandemic
AG Barr provided a bit of an update on the Durham investigation in an interview this morning with Maria Bartiromo. Highlights:
"There has been delay because of the pandemic." Barr cites problems caused by a reluctance to travel as well as physical difficulties in setting up interviews.
There has not been "an inability [to interview people], but a distinct slowing down in that process."
When Maria asks whether the pandemic has made it impossible to assemble grand juries, because of the necessary physical proximity, Barr hedges:
"I don't wanna suggest there has been or is a Grand Jury but it is a fact that there have not been grand juries in virtually all districts."
I take that to mean that there had been grand juries, but that their work has been curtailed or at a minimum slowed down because of the pandemic. Barr phrases it awkwardly, but it's clear that grand jury investigations in general have been curtailed, so we are to suppose that at best the process has been slowed down for Durham.
Barr hopes to see "developments"--indictments?--"before the end of the summer," but appears to envision at least some aspects of the investigation continuing past the election.
Maria was finally able to raise a smile from Barr when she asked whether Comey and McCabe knew by January, 2017, that the "dossier". Barr grinned and replied, "I don't wanna discuss that aspect." That followed Barr stating that the attempts by "four FBI case agents" to verify the "dossier" had "pretty much collapsed" by January and March of 2017 but "[the FBI] continued to use it as a basis for pursuing this counterintelligence investigation."