Former Special Counsel John Durham testified before Congress today to detail his years-long investigation into the FBI and Department of Justice’s own years-long investigation into baseless claims that 45th President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election.
Durham, who began investigating in 2019, stressed that his investigation was apolitical in nature and revealed that many of the investigators were former FBI agents who became repulsed by the agency’s behavior as the investigation matured.
“The FBI was too willing to accept and use politically funded and uncorroborated opposition research such as the Steele Dossier,” Durham charged, after earlier warning that the FBI’s behavioral issues “could result in significant national security risks and further erode the public’s faith and confidence in our justice system.”
“Our findings were sobering,” said Durham, citing his experience as a federal prosecutor. He added, “a number of my colleagues who spent decades in the FBI themselves… they were sobering.”
🚨BREAKING: John Durham testifies under oath over Russiagate before House Judiciary Committee:
"The FBI was too willing to accept and use politically funded and uncorroborated opposition research such as the Steele Dossier."
— Danny De Urbina (@dannydeurbina) June 21, 2023
Durham also highlighted several red flags he believed should be of special interest to the American public.
“We found troubling violations of law and policy in the conduct of highly consequential investigations directing members of a presidential campaign and ultimately a presidential administration,” said Durham, noting that it should not matter if it was Republican or Democratic.
He continued, “During our investigation we charged a former FBI agent who pleaded guilty to the felony offense of altering and fabricating a portion of a document used to obtain a court order – a FISA order – for the surveillance of a United States citizen,” then noted that significant exculpatory information was withheld from the court, and many of those involved admitted the target – Carter Page – “was not a threat to national security.” FBI leadership apparently “dismissed those concerns.”
The FBI also failed to “scrutinize the information they received” and failed to apply the same standard to information received about Trump and Clinton, per Durham.
After giving an overview of his Durham Report, the former special prosecutor took questions from Members of Congress, including Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who warned Durham that he may be ruining his reputation as a prosecutor.
“You had a good reputation, that’s why the two Democrats supported you, but the longer you hold on to [Attorney General] Barr,” Cohen ranted, “your reputation will be damaged as everybody’s reputation who gets involved with Donald Trump is damaged. He’s damaged goods, there’s no good dealing with him, because you will end up on the bottom of a pyre.”
JOHN DURHAM: "My concern about my reputation is with the people I respect, my family, and my lord. And I'm perfectly comfortable with my reputation with them, sir." pic.twitter.com/YysEoiaJ1F
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) June 21, 2023
In response, Durham shot back that he views his own reputation inside Congress as unimportant.
“My concern about my reputation is with the people I respect, my family, and my lord,” said Durham. “And I’m perfectly comfortable with my reputation with them, sir.”
