AG Barr has appointed John Durham special counsel to probe origins of Russia collusion investigation

Attorney General William Barr has appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as special counsel to continue investigating the origins of the Russia collusion probe, according to multiple news outlets.

Barr appointed Durham as special counsel on Oct. 19 – two weeks prior to Election Day – but notified Congress in a letter dated Tuesday, according to Fox News.

Barr explained in a letter to the House and Senate Judiciary committees that in May 2019 he directed Durham, a U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to investigate some "intelligence and law-enforcement activities related to the 2016 presidential election."

Barr said he had expected Durham to complete his work by the summer 2020. However, the pandemic and additional information he uncovered prevented him from meeting that deadline. 

The attorney general, in the letter, also said that prior to the presidential election he decided to appoint Durham as a special counsel "to provide him and his team with the assurance that they could complete their work, without regard to the outcome of the election."