Durham Barr
Attorney General William Barr has given the lead prosecutor investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia probe extra job security — appointing him as a special counsel to protect him from potential firing by a Biden White House.

The order, quietly signed in October and obtained by The Post on Tuesday, means US attorney John Durham will be able to complete his work as a special counsel — a role protected by federal regulations and afforded to Robert Mueller in the original Russia probe — without the threat of the new administration removing him.

In a Tuesday letter to leaders of the Senate and House judiciary committees, Barr said that he appointed Durham as special counsel on Oct. 19, but "determined that it was in the public interest to toll notification given the proximity to the presidential election."

"I completely concur with Attorney General Barr's decision to appoint Mr. Durham as special counsel regarding matters related to the Department of Justice and FBI's conduct in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).

"Based on hearings we held in the Senate Judiciary Committee, it is obvious the system failed and the FISA Court's rebuke of the Department of Justice and FBI was more than warranted.

"To restore credibility to the Department of Justice and FBI after this disgraceful episode, people have to be held accountable - either through criminal prosecution or administrative action.

The text of Barr's order appointing Durham says he, "Determined that, in light of the extraordinary circumstances relating to these matters, the public interest warrants Mr. Durham continuing this investigation pursuant to the powers and independence afforded by the Special Counsel regulations."

US attorneys generally leave office after a new president takes office, but a special counsel is difficult to fire without potentially severe backlash.

Under the regulations, a special counsel can only be fired by the attorney general for specific reasons such as conflict of interest or misconduct.

Barr tapped Durham in May 2019 to review the actions of law enforcement in the FBI investigation known as "Crossfire Hurricane" which looked into potential links between President Trump's 2016 campaign and Kremlin operatives.

President Trump has long maintained that the FBI probe was a deep state witch hunt.

In an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday, Barr said that Durham's review had zeroed-in on the actions of FBI agents, rather than the CIA or intelligence community, and that eventually Durham would announce if any charges would be brought.

The Justice Department's chief watchdog, Michael Horowitz, found no evidence of political bias by the FBI when it opened the investigation but did find the probe was littered with error.

Horowitz said the probe relied heavily on the "Steele Dossier," a discredited document containing unfounded allegations against Trump and others compiled by British spy Christopher Steele, to obtain warrants to spy on the campaign.

The order issued by Barr authorizes Duham to "investigate whether any federal official, employee, or any other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, individuals associated with those campaigns, and individuals associated with the administration of President Donald J. Trump, including but not limited to Crossfire Hurricane and the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III."

Durham "shall submit to the Attorney General a final report" and can "prosecute federal crimes arising from his investigation," the order said.