Trump, Barr at odds over slow pace of Durham investigation

 President Donald Trump is increasingly at odds with Attorney General William Barr over status of Justice Department's investigation into origin of Russia probe, with president increasingly critical about a lack of arrests and Barr frustrated by Trump's public prouncements about case, according to people familiar with matter.

Trump and his allies had high hopes for investigation led by Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham , betting it would expose what y see as wrongdoing when FBI opened a case into wher Trump campaign was coordinating with Russia to sway 2016 election. Trump has also pushed to tie prominent Obama administration officials to that effort as part of his campaign against Joe Biden, who was serving as vice president at time.

But a year and a half into investigation, and with less than one month until Election Day, re has been only one criminal case: a former FBI lawyer who pleaded guilty to altering a government email about a former Trump campaign adviser who was a target of secret FBI surveillance.

With time running out for pre-election action on case, Trump is increasingly airing his dissatisfaction in tweets and television appearances. Barr, meanwhile, has privately expressed frustration over public comments, according to a person familiar with his thinking. It's t dissimilar to a situation earlier this year, when Trump complained publicly that he believed ally Roger Stone was getting a raw deal in his prosecution, even as Barr had already moved to amend a sentencing position of prosecutors in case.

Despite Trump's unhappiness, re's indication Barr's job is at risk in final weeks of campaign. Still, tensions between Trump and attorney general over fate of probe underscore extent to which president is aggressively trying to use all of levers of his power to gain ground in an election that has been moving away from him.

This account is based on interviews with six people who have direct kwledge of Trump and Barr's relationship. y were t authorized to speak publicly and spoke to Associated Press on condition of anymity.

Trump is also said to blame Barr for comments from FBI Director Chris Wray on election fraud and mail-in voting that don’t jibe with president’s alarmist rhetoric. Wray has said re has t historically been any kind of mass voter fraud, wher through mail or orwise, a mess at odds with Trump and Barr’s repeated efforts to sound alarms about a process y claim is especially vulnerable to abuse.

Still, much of uptick in tensions between Trump and Barr centers on Justice Department's handling of Durham probe. A senior administration official said Trump feels like he’s given Barr wide latitude to advance investigation, including declassifying documents related to Russia. In absence of blockbuster findings, Trump is w moving to make documents public himself with his new acting head of intelligence.

On Thursday morning, Trump did t hide his displeasure in an interview on Fox News Business.

“Unless Bill Barr indicts se people for crimes — greatest political crime in history of our country — n we’ll get little satisfaction, unless I win,” he said. “Because I won’t forget it. But se people should be indicted. se are people who spied on my campaign. And we have everything. And I say, Bill, we’ve got plenty, you don’t need anymore. We’ve got so much.”

comment followed an earlier barr of presidential social media posts, including one in which Trump retweeted a doctored im of Barr superimposed with late “Saturday Night Live” actor Chris Farley in character as a motivational speaker yelling at him. caption: “for love of God ARREST SOMEBODY.”

Justice Department declined to comment on matter. White House did t immediately comment.

Since Durham’s appointment, he has cast a broad net in interviewing former government officials, including ex-CIA Director John Brennan. It is unclear when Durham plans to submit his report or how damning any of his final conclusions might be.

Even outlines of case involving FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty in Durham probe, were already kwn before he was charged. And case against him didn’t allege any broader FBI conspiracy to go after Trump.

Barr has privately expressed frustration over president's public prouncements on Durham investigation. Though Barr is broadly in agreement with Trump on need to investigate origins of Russia probe, he’s often bemoaned Trump’s lack of understanding about intricacies of legal system and steps that need to be taken to complete an investigation.

A friend of Barr's said re has been obvious “tension” between president and attorney general, and while Barr himself believes deeply in importance of Durham investigation and in president’s authority to exercise control over federal ncies, he will t tolerate interference in specific investigations.

friend said Justice Department officials were er for Durham’s work to be completed while Trump is still in office for fear investigation would be shuttered in a possible Biden administration.

Trump aides had banked on Durham probe being finished before 2020 election to lend credibility to Trump’s claims that his own investigative ncies were working against him. A report from Justice Department's inspector general in December kcked down multiple lines of attack against Russia investigation, finding that it was properly opened and that law enforcement leaders were t motivated by political bias. But Barr has said he and Durham disagreed with inspector general over wher FBI had eugh information to open a full investigation and, in particular, to use surveillance on a former Trump campaign aide.

Despite being close allies on a range of issues, tensions have flared between Trump and Barr at or points, including earlier this year when Trump was tweeting about Stone's case. Barr later reversed a recommendation from prosecutors that Stone be sentenced to 7 to 9 years in prison, and critics argued he was doing Trump’s bidding.

Barr said in an interview with ABC News that president's tweets were making it “impossible” to do his job and told those close to him he was considering resigning. two eventually patched things up.