The FBI's Russia investigation of former President Donald Trump was an "unjustified politically motivated witch hunt," according to U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks).
In his 306-page report, special counsel John Durham, the former top federal prosecutor in Connecticut, faulted the FBI on a number of points.
"The Durham Report just confirmed what many Americans have known to be true for years – the FBI's Russia investigation was an unjustified politically motivated witch hunt against President Trump," Rogers said in a statement. "Federal Investigators cannot expect to maintain their credibility while ruthlessly attacking their political opponents. There must be accountability for those responsible for this illegal operation."
According to the Wall Street Journal:
Durham said the bureau swiftly pursued a vague tip about potential contacts between a Trump campaign aide and Russia authorities in July 2016, even though, the report says, the bureau had no other information in its files to corroborate any such contact. The Justice Department's inspector general in 2019 found similar flaws in the FBI inquiry but found the investigation was justified.
Durham concluded the FBI was more cautious and skeptical of allegations of foreign influence on the Clinton campaign than on the Trump campaign in 2016. According to the report, the bureau didn't aggressively pursue evidence of two instances in which foreign governments were potentially planning to contribute to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign to gain influence. The speed with which the FBI opened the investigation into the Trump campaign "based on raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence also reflected a noticeable departure from how it approached" those other allegations, it said. The FBI provided briefings to the Clinton campaign, the report said, an approach it said stood in contrast to the lack of such briefings provided to the Trump campaign.
Durham concluded that the FBI didn't rigorously analyze information it received, especially from people and groups with political affiliation, prolonging the investigation and prompting the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr. Durham said the FBI was overly reliant on investigative leads from Mr. Trump's political opponents.
Durham concluded that the FBI engaged in "confirmation bias," in which it "discounted or willfully ignored material information that did not support the narrative of a collusive relationship between Trump and Russia."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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