WASHINGTON _ Attorney General William Barr is likely to consult with the intelligence community on how best to handle classified material related to the start of the Russian investigation, though the orders he has from President Donald Trump don't compel it, the top White House spokeswoman said on Sunday.
"We expect that the attorney general will consult with them on matters that he needs that guidance and advice from them," Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in an interview airing on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Certainly they work in lock step on a number of things. I don't see this to be any different."
Trump this week gave Barr the unilateral authority to declassify intelligence related to the two-year special counsel probe into the 2016 election, Russian interference and Trump's campaign. The move has been cast by some as an attempt by Trump to exact revenge on political opponents.
"The bottom line here is there was a lot of corruption at the F.B.I. and the DOJ," said Sanders, according to a transcript provided by the network. She didn't offer specific examples, but later said "there was an outrageous amount of corruption that took place at the F.B.I."
"The president wants transparency and he's given the attorney general the ability to put that transparency in place, make those decisions,"' Sanders said, adding that there's no reason to think Barr wouldn't "do everything that is necessary to make sure we're protecting important intelligence that is vital to our national security."
