Trump orders intelligence to assist Barr with review of Russia probe

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the intelligence community to cooperate with Attorney General William Barr’s review of the events that prompted an investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

It has long been requested by Trump, who often labels the inquiry into Russian interference a "witch hunt".

On Thursday he announced a directive that gave Barr sweeping new powers, including to declassify documents.

Barr is already subject to intense scrutiny and criticism by Democrats - who have accused him of acting on the president's behalf and not in the national interest.

“Today, at the request and recommendation of the attorney general of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the attorney general’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 presidential election,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said after Trump issued the directive.

The president has repeatedly suggested his campaign was spied on and accused intelligence agencies of abusing their power.

He has also said this could amount to "treason" and has suggested those involved should be criminally prosecuted.

In April, the attorney general told Congress that "spying did occur" on the Trump campaign, and said he wanted to ensure that any intelligence gathering had been legitimate.

Earlier this month Barr assigned a federal prosecutor to look at the origins of the Russia investigation. Trump has denied asking Barr to do so.

A redacted version of Mueller’s report was released publicly in April. The probe found no evidence that the Trump campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Russia and did not draw a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, but outlined some incidents that Democrats have said may be obstruction.

After the report was released, Barr was accused of mischaracterizing its findings in a previously-released summary.

He has since failed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee and has been held in contempt for failing to provide them an unredacted version of the report.

Mueller himself said he was "frustrated" by Barr's summary, saying it lacked context.