Trump orders agencies to work with Barr

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered all the country’s intelligence agencies to cooperate with Attorney General William Barr’s review of the origins of the Russia probe. The order gives Barr the authority to declassify any documents he deems relevant as he investigates how the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election—and whether the Trump campaign had any involvement—got started.

The president has claimed the intelligence community spied on his campaign, though the FBI has denied any wrongdoing. Barr seemed to confirm Trump’s assessment when he told lawmakers at a Senate hearing he ordered a review of the intelligence community’s efforts because “spying did occur.” Barr has directed the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, John Durham, to conduct the review.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., accused the president of seeking to “weaponize law enforcement and classified information.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that the review 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.”