Former special counsel John Durham has revealed that FBI agents apologized to him for their handling of the Trump-Russia investigation, as he confirmed he saw bias among key investigators.
“I’ve had a number of FBI agents that I’ve worked with over the years, some are retired, some are still in place, who have come to me and apologized for the manner which this investigation was conducted,” Durham revealed at the top of the highly publicized House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.
To him, this proved that the majority of FBI members are “good, hard-working people” who “swear under their oath to obey the law.”
“Our findings are sobering,” Durham said. “Having spent more than 40 years as a federal prosecutor, they give me particular pause.”
Durham’s testimony comes a month after the release of his scathing report that found the Justice Department and FBI had no basis to launch the Trump-Russia “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation, which investigated now-debunked allegations of Trump-Russia collusion. He concluded after four years that the FBI opened the flawed investigation “on the basis of raw, unanalyzed and unsubstantiated intelligence.”
Former special counsel John Durham has revealed that FBI agents apologized to him for their handling of the Trump-Russia investigation, as he confirmed he saw bias among key probe officials, like Peter Strzok.
The FBI has since come under fire for its unprecedented raid last summer to obtain classified documents from President Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and for allegations the agency has slowed an investigation into Hunter. Biden and gave the president’s son a ‘cherished deal’ for pleading guilty to gun and tax crimes this week.
“It’s going to take time to rebuild public trust in the institution, the changes, the reforms they’ve made are certainly changes that are going to guard to some extent against a repeat of what happened in Crossfire,” Durham insisted.
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan refuted Durham’s claims that the FBI had made significant reforms. “I don’t think anything has changed,” the Ohio Republican said.
Durham insisted his four-year investigation had operated “in good faith” and had not acted “for the purpose of pursuing partisan political ends”.
“We have seen disturbing violations of law and policy in the conduct of very consequential investigations, directed against members of a presidential campaign and, ultimately, a presidential administration. For me, it doesn’t matter if it was a Republican campaign or if a Democratic campaign was a presidential campaign.
Ranking Democrat Jerry Nadler, NY, insisted Durham’s report had been political and he was only asked to testify on Wednesday because Trump had been indicted for his handling of classified documents and payments silent.
‘M. Durham, your report reads like a defense of the Trump campaign and an attack on Hillary Clinton because that is exactly what it is!” he said, reminding Durham that he had lost all the business he had been brought before the courts.
Rep. Steve Neguse, D-Colo., asked Durham about calls by Republicans to “defund” the FBI and DOJ amid concerns of bias against Trump within the agency.
‘Now that doesn’t make sense to me. But I’ve only been in this business for 40 years,’ Durham said, referring to his four decades as a federal prosecutor.
At one point during the hearing, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., told Durham that his reputation had been tarnished because he was appointed U.S. attorney by Donald Trump before being named special counsel by Barr.
“The reputation of anyone involved with Donald Trump will be tarnished. He has damaged property. There’s no good relationship with him, so you’ll end up at the stake,’ Cohen said.
“My concern for my reputation is with the people I respect, my family and my Lord, and I am perfectly comfortable with my reputation with them, sir,” Durham retorted.
At one point during the hearing, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., told Durham that his reputation had been tarnished because he was appointed U.S. attorney by Donald Trump before being named special counsel by Barr.
President Jordan said Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) needed to be completely overhauled for renewal this year. Section 702 has been misused by the FBI to spy on the Trump campaign – specifically adviser Carter Page.
“The FBI was too willing to accept and use politically funded, unsubstantiated opposition research such as the Steele dossier,” Durham said during the hearing.
“The FBI relied on the FISA file and requests knowing that there was likely material from a political campaign or political opponent. He did so even after the President of the United States, FBI and CIA directors and others received intelligence information suggesting a Clinton campaign plan was underway to stoke a scandal. linking Trump to Russia.
FISA’s Section 702 clearance is to be completed by the end of 2023. It allows US federal intelligence agencies to conduct targeted searches of aliens, but sometimes Americans are searched poorly in the process – this that Congress wants to correct.
At one point, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., asked Durham about the meeting Donald Trump Jr. had with Russian agents claiming to have “very high level and sensitive information” that would incriminate Hillary Clinton.
“People get phone calls all the time from individuals claiming to have such information,” Durham said.
“This son of a presidential candidate gets calls all the time from a foreign government offering dirt to his important opponent. Is that what you say? Schiff insisted.
Schiff was one of Trump’s most vocal critics and spent years trying to prove collusion between him and Russia. In 2018, DailyMail.com revealed that Schiff had been impersonated by Russian comedians posing as Ukrainian officials offering him “compromising” dirt on Trump – including nude photos.
Schiff was one of Trump’s most vocal critics and spent years trying to prove collusion between him and Russia. In 2018, DailyMail.com revealed that Schiff had been impersonated by Russian comedians posing as Ukrainian officials offering him “compromising” dirt on Trump – including nude photos.
The hearings come as the FBI investigates Biden for alleged mishandling of classified documents, and just days after Trump appeared in Miami court and was arrested on 37 federal charges related to files found in Mar -a-Lago.
Republican Senators Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley are also urging Durham to provide answers about why top FBI officials – including Comey and McCabe – refused to cooperate with his probe into the agency’s opening of the probe. on the Trump-Russia collusion.
Durham issued 2,800 subpoenas, executed 500 search warrants and conducted hundreds of interviews with key officials, including Hillary Clinton and her campaign associates, Trump campaign officials and hundreds of FBI officials involved – but notably some of the top FBI officials at the time refused to cooperate. with the Durham probe.
Durham did not interview James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Bill Preistap, Kevin Clinesmith – who was convicted by Durham of unlawfully altering an email – and Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS, whom Republican senators call ” weird”.
Republicans are pressing Durham to provide information about whether Durham issued subpoenas to those specific people and whether the DOJ “impeded” any of his office’s investigative practices.
While the Durham report does not recommend any “overall change” in Justice Department guidelines or policies, it does indicate that there is a “continuing need” for agencies to recognize the lack of “analytical rigor” and the apparent “confirmation bias”.
The FBI responded to the report in a statement to DailyMail.com saying there are now “corrective actions” in place that would have prevented the “missteps in 2016”.
“The conduct in 2016 and 2017 reviewed by Special Counsel Durham was the reason current FBI management had already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time,” the FBI said. at DailyMail.com.
“Had these reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been avoided. This report reinforces the importance of ensuring that the FBI continues to do its job with the thoroughness, objectivity, and professionalism that the American people rightly deserve and expect.
