Bill Barr's DOJ investigating CIA to prove Trump conspiracy theory about Russia and 2016

The Justice Department is investigating the CIA's conclusions on Russian interference in the 2016 election, even as Attorney General William Barr claims the president's tweets are troubling him.

President Donald Trump has long complained about the CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the election on his behalf, and Barr has appointed U.S. District Attorney John Durham to investigate whether that conclusion was part of a "deep state" conspiracy to discredit the president, reported the New York Times.

Durham's questions suggest he's seeking evidence to prove a conspiracy theory that the CIA and its then-director John Brennan had a preconceived notion about Russia, and was nefariously preventing other agencies from seeing intelligence that undercut that conclusion.

Brennan disputed that view Thursday on MSNBC's "Hardball."

"Is there a criminal investigation now on analytic judgments and the activities of CIA in terms of trying to protect our national security?" Brennan said. "It clearly, I think, is another indication that Donald Trump is using the Department of Justice to go after his enemies any way he can."