Former Special Counsel John Durham recently provided his first public testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, following a closed-door session with the House Intelligence Committee. His highly anticipated appearance comes after the release of his report which concluded that the Justice Department and FBI should never have initiated the Trump-Russia investigation.
Durham's report has fueled Republican accusations of government overreach and abuse of public trust in investigating then-President Trump. The report asserts that both the Justice Department and FBI deviated from their commitment to upholding the law by launching the probe. Appointed in 2019 by then-Attorney General Bill Barr, Durham's task was to scrutinize the origins of the FBI's initial Trump-Russia investigation, codenamed "Crossfire Hurricane." This investigation aimed to determine if the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential election.
Special Counsel John Durham concluded that the Department of Justice and FBI failed to adhere to legal standards when initiating the Trump-Russia investigation. (Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)
Durham's findings indicate that high-ranking FBI officials demonstrated a lack of thorough analysis regarding information received from politically connected individuals, ultimately triggering then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. He highlighted a substantial reliance on leads provided or funded, directly or indirectly, by Trump's political adversaries. The report criticizes the Department of Justice for not adequately scrutinizing these materials and the motivations behind them, even when the FBI Director and others became aware of potentially conflicting intelligence.
One specific example cited by Durham is the FBI's failure to respond to a warning that Hillary Clinton's campaign was attempting to manipulate law enforcement for political gain before the 2016 election. This involved a plan to link Trump to Russia to divert attention from the investigation into Clinton's private email server and handling of classified information. Durham noted that then-CIA Director John Brennan recognized the gravity of this intelligence, briefing President Obama, Vice President Biden, and other key national security officials. However, no action resulted from this briefing or the subsequent referral to the FBI, a point Durham's report finds alarming.
Durham asserts that Trump's political rivals, such as Hillary Clinton, sought to manipulate the FBI leading up to the 2016 election. (TheImageDirect.com)
Durham's report also addressed the now-discredited Steele dossier, which alleged collusion between Trump and Russia. Funded by the Clinton campaign and the DNC through the law firm Perkins Coie, the dossier played a role in obtaining FISA warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. The report points out that neither the FBI nor Mueller's team investigated allegations related to individuals connected to Clinton.
Former President Trump in New York for his arraignment on charges stemming from hush-money payments during his 2016 campaign. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Although Durham's investigation resulted in charges against three individuals (former Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann, Igor Danchenko, and Kevin Clinesmith), only Clinesmith was convicted, pleading guilty and receiving community service. Durham's team was unable to bring charges related to inaction on the "Clinton Plan intelligence" due to insufficient evidence to prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt.
Trump has accused former FBI Director James Comey, and others, of orchestrating a "charade" against his presidency. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Following the report's release, Trump called for accountability for those involved in the investigation. The FBI, in response, emphasized the implementation of corrective actions to prevent similar missteps in the future.
