Barr appoints special counsel in Russia probe investigation

US Attorney John Durham, who has been given extra protection to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation (US Department of Justice/AP)

Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, granting him authority to complete the work without being easily fired.

Mr Barr told The Associated Press on Tuesday he had appointed US Attorney John Durham as a special counsel in October under the same federal statute that governed special counsel Robert Mueller in the original Russia probe.