Global Courant 2023-05-16 03:14:43
A special investigation in the United States into the conduct of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that the agency had no “factual evidence” to investigate possible conspiracy between Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
The release Monday of Special Counsel John Durham’s report — more than 300 pages in total — marked the end of a four-year investigation that was deeply steeped in politics.
Trump had promised the investigation would expose the “crime of the century” and prove that he had repeatedly been the subject of political “witch hunts”, with supporters regularly claiming that the special counsel’s work would vindicate the former US president.
But critics have said Attorney General Bill Barr, whom Durham appointed to lead the investigation in 2019, launched the investigation to muddy the political waters around Trump.
The report released Monday details several FBI missteps, including that federal investigators relied too much on tips from Trump’s political opponents to continue their investigation.
It further accused the FBI of treating the 2016 Trump investigation differently from other politically sensitive investigations, including several involving Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
“The Department and the FBI have failed to fulfill their important mission of strict adherence to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report,” Durham wrote. “Senior FBI personnel displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor with respect to the information they received, especially information from politically affiliated individuals and entities.”
Nevertheless, the effect of the special Board investigation has been muted.
Last year, two separate juries acquitted two defendants Durham sought to prosecute in connection with the investigation. And the report released Monday offered no new charges.
In a case brought by Durham, a Washington D.C. jury acquitted Clinton’s former campaign attorney Michael Sussmann on charges that he had lied to the FBI when he met with the agency in September 2016 to share a tip about possible communication between Trump’s company and a Russian. Bank.
Durham’s investigation suffered another major setback just a few months later when a jury in Virginia acquitted Russian investigator Igor Danchenko of charges that he had lied to the FBI.
The allegations related to statements Danchenko made about the sources of information he provided as part of a collection of potentially damaging information against Trump known as the “Steele dossier”.
Durham has secured a successful guilty plea against former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who was singled out for altering an email used to justify a government wiretap request.
Many of the details in Durham’s investigation had previously been revealed in a 2019 Inspector General report.
For its part, the FBI investigation into Trump, later turned over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, concluded in March 2019 that there were “numerous ties” between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.
It also said Russia was working to support Trump and harm Clinton, but there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the former Republican president’s 2016 campaign and Moscow.
The FBI has also long announced dozens of corrective actions. The agency outlined those changes in a letter to Durham on Monday, including steps designed to ensure the accuracy of covert surveillance applications to eavesdrop on suspected “terrorists” and spies.
“Had those reforms taken place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been avoided. This report emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the FBI continues to conduct its work with the rigor, objectivity and professionalism that the American people deserve and rightly expect,” the FBI said in a statement.
It also highlighted that the report focused on the FBI’s previous leadership, before current director Christopher Wray took the job in 2017.
— Representative Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 15, 2023
Still, Durham’s findings are likely to strengthen oversight of the FBI at a time when Trump is once again seeking the White House, and provide new fodder for Republican lawmakers who have launched their own investigations into the alleged “weaponization” of the FBI and the Ministry of Justice. .
After the report was released, Jim Jordan, chairman of the Republican House Judiciary Committee, said he had invited Durham to testify next week.
Trump, who faces a series of legal issues, also claimed on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the report found the American public had been “swindled”.
