Washington [US], May 16 : Special counsel John Durham, on Monday (local time), released his highly anticipated report surrounding the investigation into ex-US President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia during the 2016 election and criticized the FBI's handling of its investigation, reported CNN.
Durham concluded that the FBI should never have launched a full investigation into connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, according to a report compiled over three years by the Trump administration appointee.
Durham's 300-plus page report also states that the FBI used "raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence," to launch the "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation and used a different standard when weighing concerns about alleged election interference regarding Hillary Clinton's campaign. Durham did not, however, recommend any new charges against individuals, reported CNN.
Though the new special counsel report levies criticism after criticism of how the FBI handled the Trump-Russia probe, John Durham is not recommending "any wholesale changes" to the agency's or Justice Department guidelines or policies.
The report, Durham writes, is meant to capture the findings of the special counsel investigation and to "assist the Attorney General in determining how the Department and the FBI can do a better, more credible job," reported CNN.
Using harsh language, special counsel John Durham claims in his report that the FBI deviated from his previous approach to foreign election interference matters in how it opened, with the Trump appointed-prosecutor touting how the FBI treated matters related to former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic White House nominee Hillary Clinton.
Former Attorney General William Barr tapped special counsel John Durham in 2019 to review the origins of the Russia probe, and the scope of Durham's work grew over the years.
He scrutinized the FBI's handling of the Steele dossier, leaks of classified information about Trump-Russia contacts, and possible CIA misconduct regarding its analysis of Russian meddling, among other topics.
Largely, his inquiry seemed to always zero in on former President Donald Trump's political opponents and perceived enemies.
Special counsel John Durham scrutinized the FBI's handling of the dossier, leaks of classified information about Trump-Russia contacts and possible CIA misconduct regarding its analysis of Russian meddling, among other topics during the course of his investigation.
But, he only pressed forward with two trials during his probe, both ending in acquittal, reported CNN.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump responded to special counsel John Durham's report that concluded that the FBI should never have launched a full-blown investigation into connections between his campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.
"WOW! After extensive research, Special Counsel John Durham concludes the FBI never should have launched the Trump-Russia Probe!" Trump posted to Truth Social Monday. "In other words, the American Public was scammed, just as it is being scammed right now by those who don't want to see GREATNESS for AMERICA!"
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor