John Durham, a Trump-era special counsel assigned to review the investigation of the former president’s ties to Russia, concluded authorities didn’t have sufficient information to open the case.
The conclusion, shared in a final report after a roughly four-year investigation, was harshly critical of the FBI in how it launched a probe into the 2016 Trump campaign and possible contacts with Russia.
“The objective facts show that the FBI's handling of important aspects of the Crossfire Hurricane matter were seriously deficient,” Durham wrote, arguing that the bureau relied on “raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence.”
Durham was appointed in 2019 by then-Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate the origins of the FBI probe, a move that former President Trump celebrated. Trump himself repeatedly raised expectations for the Durham probe, suggesting it would unveil the “crime of the century.”
Durham’s investigation yielded multiple indictments, but limited results in court. Two individuals charged with lying to the FBI were found not guilty, and a third individual pleaded guilty to doctoring an email about a surveillance warrant.
The special counsel's review of the investigation into Trump and Russia has fueled partisan tensions over the reliability of the FBI and the Justice Department, and Monday’s final report is likely to exacerbate those tensions. Shortly after its release, conservatives were quick to seize on the findings to paint the FBI as biased against Trump.
DEVELOPING
