New Rule: Barr Must Now Approve New Investigations

NPR reports:

Attorney General William Barr has issued new restrictions on opening investigations into politically sensitive individuals or entities, including a requirement that he approve any inquiry into a presidential candidate or campaign.

Barr outlined the new policies in a three-page memo obtained by NPR as the Democratic primaries are underway and the country gears up for November’s presidential vote. The memo was first reported by The New York Times.

Barr’s new restrictions follow a sharply critical report from the Justice Department’s inspector general on aspects of the FBI’s Russia investigation, which began in the summer of 2016 during the presidential campaign and continues to ripple through American politics four years later.