Special Counsel John Durham’s Final Report (aka the Durham Report) Reveals Discrepancies in FBI’s Handling of Trump and Clinton Campaign Investigations
In a highly anticipated report delivered to Congress on Monday, Special Counsel John Durham unveiled his findings from the investigation into alleged election collusion between former President Trump’s campaign and Russia. The Durham Report exposed a huge difference in the FBI and Justice Department’s treatment of the two campaigns, with the Trump investigation initiated despite insufficient solid evidence, while efforts to investigate claims against Hillary Clinton’s campaign faced major resistance.
Durham’s report focused on the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” probe and exposed a failure to adhere to their mandate of upholding the law during the initiation of the Trump-Russia investigation. It emphasized that the level of interest and approach differed markedly between the investigations into the Trump and Clinton campaigns.
The report disclosed that the FBI had briefed Clinton campaign staff on potential threats targeting their campaign. However, it had disregarded intelligence received from a “trusted foreign source” regarding a Clinton campaign plan to tarnish Trump by linking him to Vladimir Putin. The intention behind this alleged plan was to divert attention from Clinton’s concerns about her use of a private email server.
“The speed and manner in which the FBI opened and investigated Crossfire Hurricane during the presidential election season based on raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence also reflected a noticeable departure from how it approached prior matters involving possible attempted foreign election interference plans aimed at the Clinton campaign,” stated the report.
Furthermore, the report highlighted that the FBI exercised caution in dealing with various investigations that could have impacted the 2016 election, including those related to Clinton. Defensive briefings were provided to Clinton and other targeted officials or candidates to mitigate foreign interference risks. Additionally, the FBI chose to terminate an investigation after discovering an improper financial contribution made on behalf of a foreign entity to the Clinton campaign. Notably, both senior FBI and Justice Department officials imposed restrictions on the handling of the Clinton Foundation matter, resulting in a significant reduction in investigative activities leading up to the election.
In contrast to the full-fledged investigation launched against unknown Trump campaign members based on raw and uncorroborated information, the FBI failed to take any action regarding the purported Clinton campaign plan. No inquiries were initiated, no tasks were assigned, and no analytical products were produced. The report underscored the significance of the Clinton plan intelligence, which prompted high-level briefings to the President, Vice President, Attorney General, Director of the FBI, and other senior government officials shortly after its receipt.
Responding to the report on Monday, the FBI released a statement acknowledging the missteps identified by Special Counsel Durham. The FBI’s current leadership claims they had already implemented numerous corrective measures since 2016, aiming to prevent similar errors in the future. The statement emphasized the importance of maintaining the FBI’s work with rigor, objectivity, and professionalism, in alignment with the expectations and trust of the American people.
The release of Durham’s report has sparked renewed debate over the impartiality and integrity of investigations conducted during the 2016 election, shedding light on the disparate treatment of the Trump and Clinton campaigns by the FBI and Justice Department.
Special counsel John Durham’s final 306-page report:
Durham Report by Washington Examiner
You can download Special counsel John Durham’s final 306-page report here
