by Sharon Rondeau
(Jun. 21, 2023) — 9:53 – Special Counsel John Durham is currently testifying to the House Judiciary Committee about his report, released last month, finding that the FBI had no predicate to launch the “Russia collusion” investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign.
Live streaming is here: https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-report-special-counsel-john-durham-0
Durham was appointed by then-Attorney General William P. Barr, who himself suggested even before the appointment that there was no justification for the years-long investigation which hung over the Trump administration until March 2019, when then-Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III, a former FBI director, issued a report from his 22-month investigation which found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The report, which surpasses 300 pages, covers the approximate four-year duration of Durham’s investigation into “Crossfire Hurricane,” whose origins appeared to lie with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
Democrat members of the committee were generally hostile to Durham and highly critical of his final product, with Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee suggesting that eight emails between Barr and Durham during the course of the investigation constituted undue influence by the attorney general. In contrast, Jackson-Lee appeared to suggest and as Durham wrote in his introductory letter, Durham was grateful to current AG Merrick Garland for allowing him to work without interference (p. 4).
A separate, “confidential” report has been provided to Garland, Durham’s letter states, in accordance with federal law.
“You got no convictions; you got nothing,” Rep. Steve Cohen told, Durham, his voice rising as he accused Durham of running the investigation to “damage the Mueller report.” Invoking Donald Trump, Cohen blurted that as a result of the association he alleged, “…your reputation will be damaged.”
After Cohen’s time was expired, Committee Chairman Jim Jordan allowed Durham to respond, during which he referred to “my Lord” as a source of accountability in his life.
During his testimony Durham confirmed what any objective thinking adult already suspected — that POTUS Barack Obama, V-POTUS Joe Biden, DNC presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the DNC, AG Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey et al Obama administration people engaged in a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, and having failed that to then remove President Trump from office.