Yahoo News Durham Report Slams Trump-Russia Probe but Suggests Changing Nothing
After a years-long probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, Special Counsel John Durham issued his report on Monday, which criticized the FBI but contained no major bombshells.
Durham was appointed by then-Attorney General Bill Barr, much to the delight of Donald Trump, who insisted the inquiry would unveil the “crime of the century.”
Instead, the 305-page report, released Monday, concluded that the Department of Justice and FBI “failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law” when they launched an investigation into potential collusion between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
Durham blamed a “serious lack of analytical rigor towards the information” that senior FBI personnel received. “In particular, there was significant reliance on investigative leads provided or funded by Trump’s political opponents,” Durham said.
Despite being harshly critical of the Russia investigation, however, Durham recommended no new charges or changes to how future investigations should be conducted. The probe resulted in just one criminal conviction for doctoring an email about a surveillance warrant.
The FBI issued a statement in response to Durham’s report that said the conduct he examined “was the reason that current FBI leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time. ”
“Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented,” the statement added. “This report reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI continues to do its work with the rigor, objectivity, and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect.”
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