Attorney General William Barr’s special counsel appointee investigating the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation has been granted the authority to use classified information “as he deems necessary” in his investigation, the White House said on Dec. 22.  John Durham, the U.S. attorney probing the flawed counterintelligence investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign, is now authorized to use classified information in his review, the White House said in a statement. The powers were first granted to Barr prior to Durham’s appointment as special counsel in a memorandum first issued by President Donald Trump in May 2019. “The Attorney General is authorized to use classified information as he deems necessary in connection with his review, including in a grand jury or other proceeding,” the memo states. The move prevents intelligence community agencies from exercising a veto over whether classified information may be presented to a grand jury empaneled by the special counsel in …