Special Counsel John Durham has released a report claiming that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) failed to uphold their commitment to the law when launching the investigation into possible Trump-Russia connections during the 2016 presidential election. The report, which was over 300 pages long, was released on Monday after being obtained by Fox News Digital.
The investigation aimed to determine whether the Trump campaign collaborated with Russia during the election, but Durham’s report stated that the FBI demonstrated “a serious lack of analytical rigor” and relied heavily on leads provided or funded by Trump’s political opponents. Durham attributed the failure to past FBI leadership, specifically former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
The report acknowledged that changes had been made within the FBI since then, but emphasized the importance of upholding the highest standards of objectivity and professionalism in conducting investigations. It also urged the DOJ and FBI to improve their analytical rigor and consider alternative hypotheses when pursuing allegations of collusion.
In 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded an investigation into possible Trump-Russia connections, which did not reveal any evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. However, Durham’s investigation led to the indictment of three people, including former Clinton attorney Michael Sussmann, Igor Danchenko, and Kevin Clinesmith. Only Clinesmith pleaded guilty and served community service time for fabricating language in an email that was material to the FBI obtaining a FISA surveillance order.
Durham’s report stated that an examination of past conduct was necessary to identify shortcomings and improve how the government conducts sensitive functions. However, the report did not recommend any significant changes in guidelines and policies concerning counterintelligence activities.
