Article snippet: WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr has held private meetings overseas with foreign intelligence officials seeking their help in a Justice Department inquiry that President Trump hopes will discredit US intelligence agencies’ examination of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the matter. Barr’s personal involvement may stoke further criticism from Democrats pursuing impeachment saying he is helping the Trump administration use executive branch powers to augment investigations aimed primarily at the president’s adversaries. But the high-level Justice Department focus on intelligence operatives’ conduct will likely cheer Trump and other conservatives for whom ‘‘investigate the investigators’’ has become a rallying cry. The direct involvement of the nation’s top law enforcement official shows the priority Barr places on the investigation being conducted by John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, who has been assigned the sensitive task of reviewing US intelligence work surrounding the 2016 election and its aftermath. The attorney general’s active role also underscores the degree to which the 2016 election still consumes significant resources and attention inside the federal government. Current and former intelligence and law enforcement officials expressed frustration and alarm Monday that the head of the Justice Department was taking such a direct role in re-examining what they view as conspiracy theories and ba... Link to the full article to read more