John Durham, a special counsel, spent four years looking into how the FBI began looking into connections between Russian ministers and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Above 300 pages long, his last report, titled Durham Report was made public on Monday. Below are several key points.
The Durham report appears to address Republicans’ dissatisfaction that he was unable to obtain significant criminal charges for alleged FBI malfeasance in the Russia-Trump investigation in the report’s introduction.
The Durham Report Boldly Established That Not Every Wrongdoing Qualifies As A Crime
The Durham Report only filed criminal reports against three individuals. In both trials that got to trial, he lost. In a fourth instance, a former FBI attorney by the name of Kevin Clinesmith entered a guilty plea for tampering with a mail that supported surveillance forms. No prison time was imposed on Clinesmith. The law rarely makes a person’s poor judgment, even poor judgment, standing alone, was considered a crime said Durham. He continued by saying that to obtain convictions, prosecutors must demonstrate criminal intent and that the legislature does not forbid all unethical or unsightly behavior that political schemes may engage in skillful advantage. The numerous accusations Republicans have made about Hillary Clinton’s 2016 policy and its backers appear to be referenced in that last phrase.
Additionally, Durham appeared to discount the notion that the swift acquittals by attorneys of 2 of the 3 individuals his cabin prosecuted indicated that the team’s efforts had been ineffective. The seasoned federal prosecutor stated that it is particularly challenging to obtain judgment in politically vulnerable cases. Durham’s report finishes with a series of recommendations for how the FBI and the DOJ should improve the manner they conduct business, which is rare for a criminal investigation carried out per the special counsel procedures of the Justice Department.
