Bill Barr caved to Trump’s demands for investigation of Russia probe to avoid Jeff Sessions’ fate: CNN analyst

During a panel discussion on Attorney General Bill Barr's appointment of a U.S. Attorney to probe the origins of the Justice Department's probe of Russia connections in Donald Trump's presidential campaign, a CNN White House correspondent said Barr likely had no choice because that is what he was hired to for.

Speaking with hosts John Berman and Alisyn Camerota, analysts Abby Phillip was asked about John Durham, who was tabbed by Barr to head the investigation.

"Well, Bill Barr kind of has to do this," Phillip began. "I mean, one of the whole points of having Bill Barr in this role as opposed to Jeff Sessions, who the president grew to almost despise by the end of his tenure, is having the confidence of the president."

"He has to take this step and put his own spin on it," she continued. "I think that there is the sense here that Barr chose someone who has specific experience in looking into this specific type of thing. But there's no question in my mind that Barr has almost no choice but to do this because the president basically appointed him into this position in order to delve more deeply into this very issue, which is almost of paramount importance to him after the conclusion of the Mueller probe."

Hosts Berman and Camerota were quick to note that Barr recently was evasive when asked by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) if anyone at the White House has discussed with him going after Justice Department official, with CNN anchors once again showing the clip of the awkward encounter.

Watch below: