Special counsel John Durham is "making good progress" into his investigation of the origins of the counterintelligence probe regarding a supposed conspiracy between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russian officials, Attorney General William Barr said.
Barr, who is to leave his post before Christmas, expressed confidence Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, would be able to complete his investigation which began in May 2019.
"Before the election, as you know, I designated John Durham as special counsel, because I wanted to provide him and his team with assurance that they'd be able to finish their work," Barr said during a Monday press conference. "They're making good progress now, and I expect they will be able to finish their work."
Fox News reported Tuesday – citing an unidentified source – Durham most recently has been working "frequently" out of Washington after spending the summer operating out of Connecticut.
The outlet reported last week Durham, given the title of special prosecutor by Barr in October but only announced Dec. 1, had added more prosecutors to his team, but it was not disclosed who they were.
Earlier this year, it was reported Jeff Jensen, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Missouri, and his District of Columbia counterpart Timothy Shea were assisting in the Durham investigation.
The probe has obtained one guilty plea so far, that of FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted to falsifying a document that resulted in investigators obtaining a surveillance warrant from a court under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Republicans and others have suspected a politically motivated investigation into Trump's campaign, citing evidence such as a text message by Clinesmith that read "Viva la Resistance."