"Importantly, had the Crossfire Hurricane actors faithfully followed their own principles regarding objectivity and integrity, there were clear opportunities to have avoided the mistakes and to have prevented the damage resulting from their embrace of seriously flawed information that they failed to analyze and assess properly," the report added.ĭurham’s investigation found that at the time, neither the FBI nor the CIA had any intelligence suggesting an improper relationship between Trump and Russia. "WOW! After extensive research, Special Counsel John Durham concludes the FBI never should have launched the Trump-Russia Probe! In other words, the American Public was scammed, just as it is being scammed right now by those who don’t want to see GREATNESS for AMERICA!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.ĭurham’s central conclusions were previously contradicted by a 2019 report by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, which found that while the FBI made a series of mistakes, the decision to open the probe was justified as a matter of law and policy - and untainted by any evidence of political bias.ĭurham, who issued a statement disagreeing with the Justice Department inspector general’s report at the time, expanded his dissent in the report released Monday. Trump allies have been eager to see the report, arguing that Durham would make it clear what the former president has been saying all along - that his campaign did nothing wrong but that the Obama administration was using the power of the federal government to try to influence the 2016 election. This report reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI continues to do its work with the rigor, objectivity, and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect.”ĭurham lost the only two prosecutions he brought to court. But the report released Monday appeared to be an appeal to the court of public opinion - an argument that Trump was treated unfairly by FBI officials who were too quick to unleash the bureau’s investigative powers. "Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented. “The conduct in 20 that Special Counsel Durham examined was the reason that current FBI leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time," the statement said. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at their summit in Helsinki on July 16, 2018. The FBI, in response to the report, indicated that the missteps identified by Durham have already been addressed. “Senior FBI personnel displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor toward the information they received, especially information received from politically affiliated persons or entities.” “The Department and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to law,” the conclusion section of Durham’s report says.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |