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President Trump told Newsmax in an interview Wednesday that "it's too early" to say whether he will ask Attorney General Bill Barr to return should he win a second term.
Why it matters: Barr quashed Trump allies' hopes that a sweeping review of the origins of the Russia investigation, led by U.S. Attorney John Durham, would be a pre-election bombshell containing revelations about what they allege were serious abuses by the Obama administration and intelligence officials.
- Durham's investigation so far has netted one criminal charge — an FBI lawyer who pleaded guilty to altering an email used to obtain a surveillance warrant on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
- Barr has made clear to top Republicans that they should not expect any further indictments or a comprehensive report before Nov. 3, Axios' Alayna Treene reports.
What they're saying: "I have no comment. Can't comment on that. It's too early," Trump said about whether he would bring Barr back.
- "I'm not happy with all of the evidence I have, I can tell you that. I'm not happy."
Driving the news: The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that a related probe commissioned by Barr, which reviewed whether Obama administration officials improperly requested the identities of Trump officials redacted in intelligence reports, has ended without finding substantive wrongdoing.
- "Personally, I think it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. It's a disgrace," Trump told Newsmax in an interview airing Wednesday night. "I think it's really a horrible thing that they're allowed to get away — when they say no indictments, they actually said no indictments before the election."
- "I had to go through elections with all those clouds over my head. But they don't because the Republicans are so nice. Personally, I think it's too bad. I think it's too bad, they're guilty as hell."