SWAN SONG: John Durham’s investigation into Trump-Russia probe finally put out of its misery
John Durham’s three-year investigation into the origins of the FBI investigation of Donald Trump’s ties to Russia is over with little fanfare. Assigned by Bill Barr’s Department of Justice in 2019, Durham, the former United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, was appointed as special counsel in 2o20, enabling him to continue his investigation after Donald Trump left office. However, that extension did little good. The so-called evidence that the federal government’s probe into foreign interference in the 2016 election was politically motivated failed to materialize as the grand jury previously convened is now expiring.
In 2016, the FBI opened “Crossfire Hurricane” to investigate “whether individuals associated with the Donald J. Trump for President Campaign were coordinating, wittingly or unwittingly, with the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” according to its investigators.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz found that “Crossfire Hurricane was opened as a Full Investigation, and all of the senior FBI officials who participated in discussions about whether to open a case told us the information warranted opening it.”
“We did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced the decisions to open the four individual investigations.”
According to the New York Times, Durham’s report – when completed – will be an opportunity to challenge the credibility of the DOJ’s investigation.
Save for a few low-level convictions, anyone waiting for a Hillary Clinton perp walk, shouldn’t hold their breath. Former Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussman – indicted in September of 2021 for allegedly lying to the FBI – was acquitted in May of this year. Sussman’s indictment was one that the counsel for the cybersecurity lawyer says was “politically motivated.”
“Michael Sussmann was indicted today because of politics, not facts. The special counsel appears to be using this indictment to advance a conspiracy theory he has chosen not to actually charge. This case represents the opposite of everything the Department of Justice is supposed to stand for.”
Analyst Igor Dachenko, an associate of British ex-spy Christopher Steele – who put together a dossier of information alleging ties between Donald Trump and Russia – was charged with repeatedly lying to federal investigators about where he got the information passed onto Steele.
None of this was exactly the “big bang” that Trump and his allies were hoping for.
Durham, along with his boss, then-Attorney General Bill Barr, traveled to multiple countries and continents looking for “proof” that the Russia investigation was born of anti-Trump bias. Chasing conspiracy theories from Australia to Britain to Italy – propelled by baseless allegations and narratives, including that a London-based professor with Russian ties, Joseph Misfud, told Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos that Russia had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.
Papadopoulos then told an Australian diplomat in London, Alexander Downer, that he had received word that the Russian government could help the Trump campaign by releasing the information anonymously, according to The Washington Post. Convicted in 2017 of lying to investigators– prior to being pardoned by Trump – Papadopoulos wasn’t deterred from spreading unsubstantiated allegations of being “set up.”
AG Barr has been on official travel in Italy for the past two days. As I explained months ago, on Fox and in my book, Mifsud was an Italian operative handled by the CIA. Italy holds the keys to the kingdom. Right government, right time. 🇺🇸🇮🇹
— George Papadopoulos (@GeorgePapa19) September 27, 2019
It seems that the only high-level indictments to come out of Durham’s wild goose chase were among Trump associates and members of the former President’s inner circle. The end of the special counsel’s investigation comes as lawsuits from Donald Trump and his former campaign aide Carter Page against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and those involved in the Russia probe have recently been dismissed.
The Durham investigation did in the end prove that the Justice Department was pursuing politically-motivated investigations. It’s just that it turned out to be the very investigation that he himself was conducting, as its quiet demise so aptly proves.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
