John Durham's secret criminal investigation reportedly involved Trump, not Clinton or the FBI | The Week
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
byPeter Weber1:51 AM
Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images
Special Counsel John Durham's long investigation of the FBI's probe of Russia's ties to former President Donald Trump never proved former Attorney General Bill Barr's theories that the investigation had started with anti-Trump skulduggery by the CIA and allied intelligence services, or through a conspiracy from Hillary Clinton's rival presidential campaign. But it wasn't for lack of trying, The New York Times detailed Thursday, after a monthlong review Durham's investigation.
Durham is currently writing his final report after going 0 for 2 in courtroom prosecutions.
The Times report answered some lingering questions from Durham's politically charged investigation, including why his top lieutenant abruptly quit before the 2020 election, and uncovered new information, like Durham's use of grand jury powers to sidestep a federal judge and obtain emails from an associate of George Soros. And it revealed that Barr transformed Durham's administrative review into a criminal investigation not because of anything to do with the FBI or Clinton, but so Durham could investigate a possible crime involving Trump.
When Durham and Barr made a very unusual trip to Italy in September 2019, "Italian officials — while denying any role in setting off the Russia investigation — unexpectedly offered a potentially explosive tip linking Mr. Trump to certain suspected financial crimes," the Times reports. Barr and Durham "decided that the tip was too serious and credible to ignore," but instead of assigning it to another prosecutor, Barr had Durham quietly investigate the matter, "giving him criminal prosecution powers for the first time."
"Durham never filed charges, and it remains unclear what level of an investigation it was, what steps he took, what he learned, and whether anyone at the White House ever found out," the Times adds. This "extraordinary fact" that Durham opened a criminal investigation of Trump "has remained secret," though "a garbled echo became public" when the Times , in October 2019, reported that Durham's review had become a criminal inquiry, presumably (but erroneously) because "Durham had found evidence of potential crimes by officials involved in the Russia inquiry."
Barr, "who weighed in publicly about the Durham inquiry at regular intervals in ways that advanced a pro-Trump narrative, chose in this instance not to clarify what was really happening," the Times notes.
You can read more at The New York Times about Barr's remarkable involvement in the Durham investigation, the dark hints he and Durham dropped to influence public perception, and how Durham kept going after hitting multiple dead ends.
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"And now you know...the rest of the story".
One of these days we may actually find out how many criminal Trump investigations were derailed by his administration. Although, that was, of course, the primary reason for him running for POTUS. AND why he is so desperate to get elected again.
Well, that AND the money....
Maybe one of these days Trump and his horde of MAGAphants will lead the way.
The trumpturd is trying for another criminal enterprise of an 'administration.'
Why is the gop stuck on stupid?
Right, which is why he didn't file any charges against Trump or associates.
Just those involved with the bullshit Steele Dossier.
And now you know the real story.
Wrong!
Still waiting for the bombshell report from Durham. After he writes his final report perhaps he'll join NT, oh wait...
From what I can tell he's been a member for several years.
He was...but he disappeared after his investigation turned up nothing against Hillary and her circle
[deleted] She's in enough trouble already.
Good advice for Eric and Donald Jr.
[ Deleted ]
The FBI and CIA investigations into Trump's Russian dealings were legally predicated and long predated the 2016 campaign. Hillary Clinton resigned from government service in January of 2013. She was not even involved, but she knew that Trump was deeply involved with multiple Russian Secret Agents...
And, that Trump was secretly negotiating with Vlad Putin to build a new Trump Tower in Moscow right up to election day in 2016!
Ya! You'd think he'd be used to it by now.
I've been waiting for I don't know how many years for all those indictments against the Obama Presidency/Hillary Clinton SOS Administration from Durham.
LOL
Everyone associated with that thug trumpturd is such a loser and freeloader and deadbeat. How much money was that loser Durham able to squeeze from us taxpayers by this loser?