The Durham Report Is No Exoneration of Trump's Actions When It Comes to Russia
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
For the past several years, the MAGA faction of the reactionary Right has waited with bated breath for the results of an investigation by Special Counsel John Durham into the FBI's probe of former President Trump's ties to Russia. To hear the Right tell it, the Durham Report was going to expose the "Deep State," how it had it in for Donald Trump and undermined our free and fair elections, and the report would lead to countless criminal prosecutions, we were promised.
Instead, the report, which came out this week, turns out to be a 300-page demerit for the FBI for not thoroughly vetting information with sufficient "analytical rigor."
That's it.
The report's underwhelming nature was certainly not for lack of trying. Previously, Durham tried his hand at prosecuting alleged offenders, but his efforts yielded a single guilty plea, from Kevin Clinesmith, a low level FBI lawyer. Clinesmith was sentenced to one year of probation and 400 hours of community service for altering an email to an FBI agent and downplaying Trump campaign advisor Carter Page's past relationship with the CIA. Meanwhile, the two times the Special Counsel went to court, he lost; both Igor Danchencko and Michael Sussman were charged by Durham with lying to the FBI, and both were found not guilty.
As for the four-year long investigation, carried out at taxpayer expense, it did not produce any significant new information. The flaws of the Steele Dossier, which was used to procure a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant, have been known for quite some time. Other criticisms of the FBI in the report just repeat the findings of a 2019 Inspector General report, which also criticized the Trump-Russia probe, and in response to which the FBI has already implemented changes.
In fact, even Durham acknowledges that the FBI didhave enough information to launch a preliminary review of Trump's ties to Russia. Those findings are consistent with the Mueller Report, which did not specifically conclude that Trump collaborated with Russians but did show several links between Trump's campaign and Russia. Durham also acknowledges that it was known that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee's servers, and that Trump publicly asked Russia to produce emails by his opponent in the 2016 election, Secretary of State and Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton, thinking they would be politically damaging.
That's why the report doesn't clear Trump. The former President's actions may not have risen to the level of secret collusion, but only because his words were stated in public, making it a hazy First Amendment issue.
In other words, the report was a dud, fodder for Right wing blogs and cable news channels, but nothing of true national interest. It amounts to a strongly worded negative performance review.
Still, expect Trumpian TV pundits and the former President himself to make a mountain out of this molehill. Congressman and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has already promised to use Durham's report to show that the government is being weaponized against Trump and his allies. Jordan has tried many stunts to get his weaponization claims to take hold outside Donald Trump's strongest circles of support, though thus far, they've all fallen flat due to lack of solid evidence.
Unfortunately for Jordan, Durham's report isn't likely to change that.
Indeed, while the Right claims that the Biden Administration and DOJ brass have been interfering in investigations, the real headline here is that they have not: Durham specifically thanked Attorney General Merrick Garland for allowing his investigation to continue unimpeded. Garland did not redact, summarize, or preempt Durham's report—all of which Bill Barr did when it came to the Mueller report.
Still, there is a cost to this Special Counsel Report. The result will be that the FBI is less likely to investigate corruption from politicians seeking the presidency and those who may be compromised by foreign entities. Durham is correct that the FBI did a terrible job when it came to allegations of collusion between Trump and Russia, but we are now in danger of the powerful and most corrupt on both sides of the political spectrum not receiving the scrutiny they deserve, and grassroots activists bearing the full weight of the federal government.
If Trump returns to the White House, he is likely to gut the Bureau and fill it with loyalists who will key in on his perceived political enemies. If that happens, there is nothing to stop future Democrats and Republicans from doing the same. In the worst case scenario, this could send us down the road of recreating the old FBI under J. Edgar Hoover.
All of which is to say, the findings of the Durham report may be negligible, but its impact will be significant.
Dr. Jason Nichols is an award winning senior lecturer in the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland College Park and was the longtime editor-in-chief of Words Beats & Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.
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Like his investigation, Durham's report is a dud!
Trump did nothing to be exonerated for...
Trump continues to thrive in the TDS riddled mind.
I love the "he's guilty" claims with zero evidence, indictments, trials or convictions. It's kind of fun to watch their hysterics.
Trump has been guilty of everything he's been accused of ever since he was a child.
Only his daddy's ill gotten mafia money has kept him out of prison this long.
Trump is a serial liar and serial criminal of the worst kind. He's a narcissist!
Any claim in the Durham report is also suspect.as he was/is seriously biased.
Of course there were those in the FBI who were biased against Trump.
The FBI tends to be biased against lifelong serial criminals.
The intelligence community as a whole is seriously biased against Trump.
That doesn't mean that they are wrong about him. Trump is a seriously evil person.
Anybody who can't see/understand these facts is a braindead fool.
TDS is a disease.
Still have to prove it.
Sure you aren't talking about Brandon the Human Fuck Up Machine? Or Obama? Bush Jr? Clinton? Bush Sr? Or Reagan? The closest thing to a non serial liar/criminal or narcissist to be President was Carter. Nice guy- really bad president.
Seriously, prove it. Considering that Durham's report closely mirrors the IG report. Or are you saying the IG is also suspect?
Yes, there were. First thing you said that actually is provable.
Back to TDS. Seriously with how much Democrats love criminals they should be over the moon with Trump. Oh wait, he has an R behind his name. Even criminals have rights; and the FBI cannot use their bias to conduct illegal investigations using hitting pieces paid for by political opponents as the basis.
Again, you have no problem with that. Especially when it gets in the way of their ethics and adherence to the law.
Must really rankle you that Brandon is guilty of doing everything you are accusing Trump of. Of course Brandon has the AG, FBI, DOJ, and IRS in his back pocket- so they are dragging their feet and making life difficult for anyone trying to investigate. Remember when Democrats claimed that whistleblowers were sacrosanct? Even ones that presented cobbled together hearsay evidence.
the great majority of fbi personnel are conservatives
“TDS is a disease.”
Please.
At this point it is nothing more than an excuse, to exonerate, or a feeble attempt to discredit.
If I remember correctly, the Democrats fawned all over Trump right up to the day he announced he was running for President.
Bingo. This also points out the problem with "both sides-ism" when it comes to Trump. Both sides are not just as bad as each other. Yet some "non-partisans" pretend they are.
No one is hated as he who shows someone they've been played for fools. Look at the obsessive attempts to discredit and minimize Durham from the same people who fell for all the collusion lies. Of all people, those who parroted lies about collusion, the steele dossier etc for years should be the most mad. Think of all the lies they were told, apparently believed, and dutifully posted here. They were played for fools and embarrassed themselves. Amazingly, they seem happy about being used and enraged the truth is coming to light. Durham exposed their religion for a sham and is being hounded for it
They are madder at the sham of the investigation being exposed than angry at being manipulated. They still love Adam Schiff who fed them lie after lie. . That’s crazy to me.
I can’t imagine completely lacking the pride to say, “I was lied to. I helped attack my own government for years based on lies manufactured for partisan reasons. I’m so happy I was used to help divide and damage the country.”
Durham has conclusively detailed how the fbi abused its power for partisan purposes (the way he compares to how Clinton was treated is gold). That should bother every American.
Durham is a Trump stooge and still couldn't find evidence to exonerate him.
What bothers every intelligent American is that Trump is a Putin stooge.
Hillary was right - with the former 'president' 'all roads lead to Russia'
She was also right with the deplorables comment but there were a lot more . . . she underestimated
Do you have any idea what's going on here? At all? Who taught you that prosecutors exonerate people?
Talk about moving goalposts. You might have just set a record.
t bothers every intelligent American is that Trump is a Putin stooge.
You've made my point better than I did. You cling to lies and fantasy and spout dogmatic nonsense that no informed person believes because it makes you feel better to believe the lie than admit you've spent years being manipulated.