Durham's dud is worse than it looks — and now Trump suddenly doesn't want to talk witch hunts | Salon.com
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
It all goes back to Trump's obsessions.
The thing that you've got to remember about Trump, bless his black heart, is that his obsessions invariably take him to places he would rather not have gone. In fact, the entire reason John Durham was ever appointed by Attorney General William Barr as a Special Counsel to look into the origins of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation in the first place had to do with Trump's obsessions. He was obsessed that the entire thing, which he famously and repeatedly called the Russia! Russia! Russia! witch hunt, was a plot by the FBI to get him. So, Trump had Barr appoint Durham to investigate the investigators. Put another way, Trump weaponized the Justice Department to pursue his perceived enemies in the FBI, beginning with his nemesis James Comey, the former head who first opened the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia way back in July of 2016.
The Durham investigation, as it became known over the last four years, has been in the news a lot recently. Durham was appointed in May 2019 to investigate the so-called Crossfire Hurricane FBI counterintelligence investigation, as well as the Mueller investigation, which ran from May 2017 to March 2019. A year into Durham's investigation, at a Department of Justice press conference, then-attorney general Barr said what he was trying to do was "get to the bottom of what happened in 2016," which is interesting in and of itself, because the only investigation taking place in 2016 was the FBI's.
Durham wasted four years — twice as long as Mueller's probe — and God-only-knows how many taxpayer dollars without convicting anyone of wrongdoing (he lost both cases he brought to court) or establishing the conspiracy Trump and Barr had long said lay behind the Russia investigation. Our first clue is the date in Barr's statement above: 2016. Trump was convinced that the FBI, and in particular James Comey, was out to get him. Trump put Comey through what amounted to a loyalty test soon after he took office, inviting him to dinner, and while Comey was there, under the influence of the splendor of the White House and the power of being in Trump's presence, asking him if he could go easy on Michael Flynn, who had resigned as Trump's national security adviser the previous day when it became known that he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December of 2016. Comey demurred, and Flynn went on to be indicted and convicted of lying to the FBI about the same matter. Trump apparently never forgave Comey, especially after Comey testified before the House Intelligence Committee the following month that the Trump campaign had secretly been under investigation since July 2016. Trump fired him just two months later, on May 9, and was infuriated when he found out that Comey had flown on a government jet back to Washington after his termination.
The Durham investigation is a flop — but Donald Trump just can't quit the conspiracy
One of the curious things that came out in the New York Times story about how the Durham investigation eventually "unraveled" was the tale of Barr joining Durham in 2019 on a trip to London and Rome as part of Durham's probe into the roots of the Russia investigation. That the two men had made the trip overseas had been previously known. The new detail that emerged in the recent Times report was that while in Rome, Italian authorities had given the two men a "tip" that Trump was involved in some sort of financial improprieties. What the possible improprieties may have been was not explained by the Times, and there the mystery sat until Barr, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, confirmed that he had assigned Durham to criminally investigate the matter without informing anyone that a potential financial crimes investigation into Trump had been added to Durham's responsibilities. What the tip consisted of remains unknown. Barr claimed to the Los Angeles Times that it didn't amount to anything and wasn't pursued further.
Durham wasted four years — twice as long as Mueller's probe — and God-only-knows how many taxpayer dollars without convicting anyone of wrongdoing
And there the entire matter of Barr's and Durham's big European adventure stood until I cast an eye through my files at what was going on in London and Rome in 2016 that would have precipitated their overseas trip, where they met with intelligence and law enforcement officials in both countries. The British and Italian officials were said to have been perplexed by the requests from such high-level American law enforcement officials for help with the Durham investigation and denied that their governments had anything to do with what the Times called "setting off the Russia investigation."
What set off the Russia investigation was actions taken by one of the Trump campaign's foreign policy advisers in both Rome and London. Why the Trump campaign had one of its advisers in Rome and London, and why that official was in contact with a person with close ties to Russia would turn out to be the question that got the FBI involved.
Recall Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos. His contact in both Rome and London was Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese national who was involved with something called Link Campus University which had a presence in both cities. Mifsud also claimed to be a professor at the University of Stirling in Scotland and the London Academy of Diplomacy. As part of his involvement with these academic institutions, Mifsud apparently found it necessary to travel frequently to Russia where he became friendly with a man called Ivan Timofeev, a director of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, as well as the Russian International Affairs Council. According to what Mifsud told Papadopoulos, Timofeev had the ear of Vladimir Putin, and might be able to set up a meeting between Putin and Donald Trump. Papadopoulos reported this back to campaign headquarters in New York and was told by Steve Bannon to keep pursuing the possibility.
Trump's attempt to bring disrepute to the Mueller report by getting Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate the investigators has backfired spectacularly.
It was quite a pursuit. Papadopoulos continued to meet here and there with the mysterious Mifsud. I say mysterious because Mifsud's connections to these purported academic institutions and think tanks, like the ones run by Timofeev, have never been fully explained. But I've got a potential explanation: Russian intelligence frequently uses academic institutions, conferences, and think tanks as fronts for gathering intelligence around the world. Colleges and universities are innocuous. People go there to learn about diplomacy and international relations. Same with conferences, like the one Papadopoulos attended in Rome that was held by Link Campus University, where he said he met this "Professor" Mifsud.
Papadopoulos met with Mifsud when he returned to London, and this is where the FBI comes in. At a breakfast, Mifsud told Papadopoulos that he had just returned from a conference in Moscow where he had learned that the Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton they might be willing to share with the Trump campaign. And what do you know, but the man Mifsud was breakfasting with was an official of that very campaign! Mifsud also introduced Papadopoulos to a woman he claimed was Putin's niece. Mifsud had established his bona fides with his trips to Moscow and his connections to think tank directors like Timofeev. Papadopoulos was impressed enough that at a bar one night, he bragged to an Australian diplomat that he had learned the Russians had dirt on Clinton. The diplomat turned right around and reported his conversation with Papadopoulos to his embassy. The Australian embassy then contacted the American embassy. The American embassy then contacted the FBI in Washington.
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There were four key elements in the report from London: a Trump campaign official, dirt, Clinton, and Russians. That was more than enough to start an investigation right there, and the FBI did just that.
Barr appointed Durham to investigate the origins of the Mueller report after he had done his best to bury it with his phony announcement before the report even came out, claiming that Mueller had found no "collusion" between the Trump campaign and Russia. If that was true, however, why was there a need for the Durham investigation? Well, it was to discredit the Mueller report, and that needed to be done for a couple of reasons. The first was the fact that Mueller had found eight separate instances when Trump appeared to have attempted to obstruct justice by interfering with the Russia investigation. That was definitely a bad thing, but it was no danger to Trump, as Mueller did not make a recommendation that Trump be indicted because sitting presidents cannot face federal indictments, according to a standing Justice Department policy.
So what was the big worry?
Durham went after the Mueller investigation and ended up finding out that there actually was good cause for the FBI to investigate the Trump campaign's connections with Russians
Mueller had indicted and convicted several Trump people such as Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos, but only for lying to the FBI. He had also indicted and convicted in absentia 25 Russians for interfering with the 2016 election. Thirteen of them were Russian nationals working for the Internet Research Agency (IRA) in St. Petersburg. They were charged with conspiring to interfere with the U.S. elections and identity theft. Also indicted in this group was the owner of the IRA, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a man known as "Putin's chef." More on him in a bit. Twelve of the indicted Russians were agents in the Russian intelligence agency, the GRU, who were charged and convicted of conspiracy to hack and distribute key Democrats' emails, including those of Hillary Clinton and her campaign chairman, John Podesta.
Note that all the indictments of Russians had to do with computer crimes - hacking, assuming false identities, and distribution of disinformation via social media - in a conspiracy to influence the election.
When the FBI began to investigate Papadopoulos for his claims that he knew that the Russians had dirt on Clinton, his connections to Russian were tenuous, but they were there in the person of a non-Russian, Mifsud, who had plenty of connections to Russians. So, the FBI interviewed Mifsud, too - and here is where it gets interesting.
John Solomon is a right-wing commentator who had worked for The Washington Examiner and The Hill and who would go on to play a key role in defending Trump during his impeachment for attempting to extort the president of Ukraine into helping Trump defeat Joe Biden. In the summer of 2018, Solomon was working for The Hill and wrote a column attempting to take apart Mueller's case against Papadopoulos. In the column, he made multiple references to Mifsud. Somehow he got access to the FBI interviews with Mifsud. He reported that Mifsud had described his contacts with Papadopoulos as "innocuous," and denied the bit about Hillary Clinton and the Russians having dirt on her. According to Solomon, in Mifsud's words, he was "collaborating for a number of years on a number of geo-strategic issues, mainly pertaining to publications/training for diplomats/international experts on energy security and their implications on international relations." All he was doing was putting people together, "bridging" between them he called it, and Papadopoulos was just one of those people.
But the mysterious Mifsud, whose passport and wallet were found in Portugal in August of 2017 and who has been missing since then, went on and on to the FBI about a curious subject: cybersecurity.
Durham investigation goes bust: Bill Barr blew up mission to expose the deep state — to save Trump
"The intent of that 'bridging' was specifically of a geo-political nature and not tied in any way or form to cybersecurity," he told the FBI in an interview. Afterward, Mifsud went to the trouble of writing an email to the FBI, just to make sure they got what he was telling them. According to Solomon, "at one point in his email, he bold-faced a single sentence for emphasis: 'Cybersecurity was never the direct object of any of our communications,'" in reference to Papadopoulos. What cybersecurity had to do with Papadopoulos, or Mifsud's contacts with Russians, or anything else for that matter, was never explained by Mifsud, although the Mueller report might be consulted for an answer, as the 25 Russians he indicted were all charged with offenses that might be described as dealing with cybersecurity: hacking and using social media manipulation. Thirteen of those Russians were agents for the GRU, and 11 of them worked for Yevgeny Prigozhin, and one was Prigozhin himself. If his name sounds familiar, it should. He's currently in the news as the owner of the Wagner Group, the gang of ex-cons and mercenaries that have been fighting in Eastern Ukraine as part of Putin's army. Prigozhin has been close to Putin since he was, indeed, Putin's chef years ago.
John Solomon's name should also be familiar. In his career as a right-wing commentator who spent a lot of his time trying to poke holes in the Mueller report and defending Trump from charges that he tried to extort the president of a foreign country, Ukraine, Solomon was in frequent contact with Lev Parnas, a friend of Trump who has since been indicted for several felonies after being arrested at Dulles Airport with a one-way ticket to Austria. But, hey! Not to worry! Solomon landed on his feet when he was appointed, along with Kash Patel (currently a target of Special Counsel Jack Smith) as Trump's representative to the National Archives, where both he and Patel have been involved in defending Trump from charges that he mishandled classified information stored at Mar-a-Lago.
Oh, what a web is woven when you start digging. Durham went after the Mueller investigation and ended up finding out that there actually was good cause for the FBI to investigate the Trump campaign's connections with Russians. Go figure. Trump's attempt to bring disrepute to the Mueller report by getting Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate the investigators has backfired spectacularly. Two indictments of minor characters, two not-guilty findings by juries, several resignations from the special counsel staff in protest over Durham's methods, and no holes whatsoever blown in the Mueller investigation.
Kind of reminds you of all the lawsuits Trump has filed that have either been thrown out of court or resulted in serious judgments against him, the most recent having produced a million-dollar fine against him and his lawyer for misusing the federal courts by filing an entirely frivolous lawsuit. All that's come out of the Durham investigation is an example of what weaponizing an agency of the federal government looks like, up close and personal
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This is rookie shit compared to the king of investigative duds.
Democrats
Wrong! It was criminal abuse of power by the guilty parties lead by Trump, Barr and Durham.
Yup! Barr was trumps' consigliere.
Sounds to me that the real reason Duram's investigation didn't produce any convictions was that he followed the evidence and all the evidence led to Trump.
Just like Hillary said - with #45, all roads lead to Putin.
That was actually Speaker of The House, Pelosi. And she is correct.
The CIA and FBI probes of Trump's Russian dealings were legally predicated and predated the 2016 election by years. They were based on Trump and Co seeking out, meeting with and establishing long term relationships with Russian spies and clandestine operatives of Russian State Intelligence Services in the years leading up to the 2016 election. Beginning by at least 2014 and continuing right up to Election day in 2016 Trump was constantly in secret negotiations with Vlad Putin to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. He e en offered Putin a luxury penthouse apartment as a bribe. The CIA and FBI were only doing their jobs of monitoring Russian spies when Trump and Co blundered into ongoing surveillances.
Additionally, Hillary Clinton retired from public office in January of 2013 which was over ten years ago. She plainly had nothing to do with causing Trump to be investigates. The worst part is that Trump, Barr and Durham knew all of this yet initiated a real witch hunt to prove otherwise.
Now the Trump-Barr-Durham Hoax is exposed.
Who gives a fuck? The Russian collusion hoax and the Mueller clown show of an investigation which was predicated on illegally obtained and erroneous data was completely and thoroughly debunked and proven to be a partisan witch hunt.
[deleted]
That is untrue, but even if it were not the origins of the CIA and FBI investigations into Trump's secretive relationships with Russian spies were legally predicated and long predated the 2016 Presidential elections. Trump, Barr and Durham knowing this to be true makes the Durham Probe the real hoax! At least read the article and discuss what it says. Your blanket denial of facts is pure silliness beyond this point!
The honest hardworking agents of the CIA and FBI and their families care. The people of America care. Those who lost their careers due to false charges made by Trump care. Everyone who cares about truth, justice and equal protection under the law cares. A more accurate question would be, who in hell does not care that Trump and Co abused power?
We get it. MAGA do not care if it's Trump!
Let me finish that with some facts:
Those 'legally predicated" investigations resulted in NO charges EVER filed against Trump. Guess all those alphabet agency investigations were all for naught!
Why don't you ever tell the WHOLE truth about them?
Besides being untrue, that bullsit you are selling has zero zip nada nothing to do with the CIA and FBI investigations into Trump's secretive relationships with Russian spies that were the legal predicates for the origins of the Trump Russia Investigation. A number of charges were filed BTW. How do you explain Roger Stone and Paul Manafort getting convicted and being pardoned by Trump? Go troll somewhere else, fella!
since he has zero proof these imaginary investigations ever happened, [deleted]
Nothing but projection, deflection, and denial from you, as usual.
Just like the indictments that we're still waiting for from the entire Obama administration Greg?
It was the #45 criminal enterprise administration, you're confused.
When are we going to see all the dirt from Hunter's laptop? We've been waiting years for that too.
[Deleted]
So far you have disproven nothing I said!
The commonly accepted practice is for the person making the claim prove it.
[deleted]
[JBB is not the topic]
So far, after hundreds if not thousands of attempts to get you to provide some type of believable evidence, you still haven't proven a thing you claim.
[Deleted]
That is a straight up lie and mere trolling!
I've published innumerable articles on this.
And, you denied the truth on every one...
Bull-fucking-shit.
You can not prove that Trump ever did one thing wrong that those "investigations' you go on and on about turned up.
[deleted]
Tell us all what specifically the investigation turned up that proved Trump did something illegal,
I bet I retire before you can provide it!
No, you tell us what any of your lameass irrelevant bullshit has to do with the fact that the CIA and FBI investigations (plural) into Trump's secretive relationships with Russian spies and Vlad Putin were legally predicated, long predated the 2016 Presidential election, were ongoing and based upon Trump seeking out, meeting with and secretly negotiating with Vlad Putin and scores of clandestine agents of Russian State Intelligence Services? Answer that!
And you STILL can't prove your shit.
Why is that?
Is that because the investigations, (IF any actually happened) turned up dick?
So you can not perform the simple task of answering a question and must resort to deflection.
Noted.
The only investigation that turned up dick was John Durham's Investigation, fella...
[deleted]
Your deflections seem, well, weak and pitiful.
Thanks for reaffirming my point, again...
Just like folks who make claims and can't support them.
Didn't the left pillory Trump for the same exact thing?
And you HAD a point? Really?
Haven't you learned from your role model Trump that simply repeating a lie over and over and over doesn't make it true?
Durham is significant as a litmus test. Anyone who still sees value in the Durham "investigations" is divorced from reality. Hopelessly.
It's pointless to converse with such people.
If we stopped conversing with people there is no point conversing with , sites like NT would be out of business.
I look at forums like this as less of a "discussion" and more as a means for self-expression and the problem with even that is that many people are incapable of expressing themselves in an intelligent way.
There's a kind of esthetism in "debating" with someone who is perfectly hermetic. When Commenting here, I'm trying to craft an esthetically pleasing text, without reference to whatever.
An admirable goal, let us know when you’ve reached.
I find no value in discussing things with people who are unreasonable and prone to anger
that makes for a dull holiday meal...
Good point. endlessly repeating lies about imaginary FBI/CIA investigations is either seriously divorced from reality [deleted]
It is implausible the CIA and FBI were not investigating Trump seeking out and meeting with dozens of Russian State Intelligence Services agents. It would have been dereliction of dury for them not to. Just the same as they would anyone secretly communicating with Putin and his spies. Everyone understands this without the CIA and FBI revealing the details of their investigations, which they never do...
[deleted]
He would have to show the CIA believed Trump was engaged in espionage and/or terrorism in 2014. He apparently thinks owning a business that negotiates for the use of naming rights is espionage. His whole schtick here is just lies built upon ignorance.
le the CIA and FBI were not investigating Trump seeking out and meeting with dozens of Russian State Intelligence Services agents
Asking his lawyer to discuss naming rights for a business venture with Russians is not the proof of espionage or terrorism that the CIA needs to investigate an American. So either the Obama admin broke the law and spied on an American citizen illegally, or you are lying about these investigations you have zero evidence of ever happening occurred. Either way, you lose.
The CIA and FBI do not confirm or deny any specifics about ongoing investigations, but it is commonly know that not only the CIA and FBI but every other intelligence agency in the world including MI6 and Interpol were monitoring the ongoing relationships between Trump and Putin for years prior to the 2016 elections. How could they not?
So you keep repeating claims without a single shred of evidence.
Doesn't matter since NOTHING was turned up.
Bet that upsets some folks no end!
Lol. Did you miss the IG report I've linked to a 1,000 times to try and get you to stop repeating this lie that does just that?
t it is commonly know that not only the CIA and FBI but every other intelli
"Commonly know" means "I made it up."
This makes it, what, 1,000 times you've now been unable to provide any proof of your absurd claim? Yet you, Trump like, persist in the lie.
Who to believe? You who never cocedes anything or the dozens of reputable writers and editorial boards at dozens of reputable newspapers and media outlets who have reported about it this week?
Prove the CIA and FBI weren't investing!
That they ignored Trump fluffing Putin...
Dozens of news sources report different.
Get outside the MAGA bubble for once...
You keep making stuff up and repeating the same baseless lies...without a bit of evidence.
Nothing you say can be taken seriously.
But you NEVER link any or those sources.
Why? Because they don't exist?
Give it up!
I guess you forgot about Michael Cohen.
It was all revealed in his trial. Remember?
Certainly not you, who have made these nonsense claims for years now, never proving one damn thing.
You made the claim, simply prove the nonsense now.
Why is that impossible for you to do?
Once and for all, all these investigations you claim happened resulted in ZERO indictments for Trump. So why do you keep touting something that resulted in nothing?
Do you mean Michael Cohen? [deleted]
Yet, I have published about ten different articles about it in the last few days. Those are my sources. Look at all the different articles from different sources that I have shared this week and then get back to me with your false grace bullshit!
I thought that he pled guilty to what he calls DOJ weaponized false charges.
Then cite one legitimate source proving it. Just one.
I know exactly what he was charged with and what he admitted to. So does Mueller. There's a reason it was a nothing burger in the Mueller Report.
If you actually understood what was revealed in his trial, you'd never bring him up.
Can't find what doesn't exist!
[deleted]
[deleted]
OAN is a FSB propaganda arm. As are others in right wing autocratic circles.
ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN are all Democrat party propaganda arms. Same as others in other haughty left wing dictatorial circles.
None of those you mentioned ever supported candidates or ideals that culminated in "We love Trump" or "Hang Mike Pence."
What is the base of your misconceptions? Is there a personal reason you support the party and ideals that wishes to use the power of government to force child birth on every women and family regardless of age, circumstance or personal prospects?
[deleted]
I simply asked the question. Are you able to respond honestly?
Asked and answered.
[deleted]
You answered nothing. You deflected and attacked.
My question was personal to you. Your feelings, beliefs and perceptions concerning the 2nd paragraph in 3.2.26.
I will gladly have the conversation. It is okay. Just a discussion.
[deleted]
[deleted]
[,] that the mass media noted, in general, leans heavily left and openly supports left leaning candidates while attacking right leaning one. That was the “basis” of my point and then your comment spinning a ridiculously emotional sweeping generalization about “forcing childbirth” on every woman and family .... which actually cracked me up so thanks for that but we can talk about this all day. Until you admit those facts, it’s wasted effort.
[deleted]
It must be terribly disillusioning to learn that you were wrong about everything. That Durham's Probe completely struck out. That the CIA and FBI probes (plural) into Trump's shady secretive dealings with clandestine agents of Putin's Russian State Intelligence Services were legally predicated and long predated the 2016 Presidential election...
You can keep spewing that shit till the cows come home but it still doesn't make it so.
"It's not that our liberal friends are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so."
Ronaldus Magnus (Ronald Reagan)
[removed]
This has zero to do with me. If you do not like the facts as presented in this and dozens of other articles saying the exact same things then you can write a sternly worded letter to their editors. It is not just me calling out the Trump-Barr-Durham Hoax. So just cut the crap for once...
Fact - The CIA and FBI probes (plural) of Trump's Russian connections were legally predicated, and they predated the 2016 Presidential election by years...
Trump got himself investigated by being closeasthis with multiple Russian Spies!
Damned google only found these
guys being investigated. Take your 2014 and run on now.
[deleted]
Fact - The CIA and FBI probes (plural) of Trump's Russian connections were legally predicated, and they predated the 2016 Presidential election by years...
[deleted]
[Deleted]
No thanks, we've seen enough of that these pst four years.
LOL
[Deleted]
meh, I'm glad republicans have set the precedent of digging up the investigation graveyard from years ago. hopefully barr and durham will get a chance to do all that pro bono stuff they've ducked for years, while they're at club fed.