The FBI’s investigation into the handling of the Trump-Russia investigation has ended | Donald Trump news

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A special United States investigation into the conduct of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that the agency lacked actual evidence to investigate possible collusion between Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

Monday’s release of Special Counsel John Durhams report totaling more than 300 pages marks the end of a four-year investigation that is deeply politicized.

Trump has promised that the investigation will uncover the crime of the century and will prove he is the recurring subject of a political witch hunt, with supporters regularly saying that special counsel will prosecute the former US president. .

But critics say Attorney General Bill Barr, who appointed Durham to lead the investigation in 2019, launched the probe to muddy the political waters surrounding Trump.

The report released Monday detailed several missteps by the FBI, including that federal investigators relied too much on tips provided by Trump’s political opponents to drive their investigation.

It further accused the FBI of treating the 2016 Trump probe differently than other politically sensitive investigations, including some involving Trumps Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

The Department and the FBI failed to uphold their essential mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report, Durham wrote. information from politically related persons and entities.

However, the impact of the special counsel’s investigation has been muted.

Last year, two separate juries acquitted two of the defendants Durham tried to prosecute in connection with the investigation. And the report released Monday offered no new charges.

In a case brought by Durham, a jury in Washington, DC, acquitted former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann on charges that he lied to the FBI when he met with the bureau in September 2016 to share a tip about on possible communications between Trump’s business and a Russian. bank

The Durham investigation faced another major setback just months later when a jury in Virginia acquitted Russian researcher Igor Danchenko on charges that he lied to the FBI.

The allegations relate to statements Danchenko made about sources of information he provided as part of a collection of potentially damaging information against Trump known as the Steele dossier.

Durham won a successful appeal against former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who was singled out for altering an email used to justify a government wiretap application.

Many of the details in the Durhams’ investigation were previously revealed in a 2019 inspector general’s report.

For its part, the FBI’s investigation into Trump, which was later handed over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, concluded in March 2019 that there were multiple links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.

It also said that Russia worked to support Trump and hurt Clinton, but there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the former Republican president’s 2016 campaign and Moscow.

The FBI has also long since announced dozens of corrective actions. The bureau outlined those changes in a letter to Durham on Monday, including measures meant to ensure the accuracy of secret surveillance applications to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists and spies.

If those reforms had been implemented in 2016, the missteps identified in the report would have been avoided. This report reinforces the importance of ensuring that the FBI continues to do its work with the rigor, impartiality, and professionalism that the American people deserve and rightly expect, the FBI said in a statement.

It also emphasized that the report focused on the FBI’s previous leadership, before current Director Christopher Wray took the job in 2017.

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Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 15, 2023

Still, the Durhams’ findings are likely to bolster the FBI investigation at a time when Trump is once again seeking the White House as well as offering new fodder for Republican lawmakers who have launched their own probe into the alleged weapon of the FBI and Justice Department.

After the report was released, Republican House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said he had invited Durham to testify next week.

Trump, who is facing a series of legal issues, also claimed on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the report showed that the US public had been scammed.

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