Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee pressed Special Counsel John Durham repeatedly about the absence of charges against high-ranking Justice Department employees who took part in Operation Crossfire Hurricane.
Even though Durham and his team brought charges against three people during their investigation, only one of them—former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith—was a member of the federal law enforcement community. He was found guilty of changing an email about Carter Page, an adviser to the Trump campaign, and was given probation as punishment. Igor Danchenko, a source for the Steele Dossier, and Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann were both found not guilty of lying to the FBI.
The FBI launched the investigation in a "noticeable departure from how it approached prior matters involving possible attempted foreign election interference plans aimed at the Clinton campaign," according to Durham's final report, which was published on May 12. Durham further discovered that there was "no evidence in the Bureau's holdings indicating that at any point during the campaign anyone in the Trump campaign had been in contact with any Russian intelligence officials."
The report found that senior FBI officials were immediately aware of the holes in the prosecution's case against the Trump campaign. In August 2016, CIA Director John Brennan informed James Comey, then-Director of the FBI, and other top government officials that there were allegations of collusion between the Clinton campaign and other parties. Later, Brennan detailed the accusations in a letter to Comey and Peter Strzok, a former FBI special agent. According to the report, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe repeatedly denied leaking information to the press, Comey, and the Inspector General of the DOJ.
Have Jim Comey, Andrew McCabe, or Peter Strzok faced any consequences for these flagrant transgressions aside from termination? Has anyone brought them before a grand jury or filed any charges against them? If not, why not? Rep. Chip Roy of Texas questioned.
Durham refused to comment on the grand jury and did not provide an explanation for why he did not bring charges against the FBI agents.
Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina questioned Durham about his decision not to speak with important individuals mentioned in the report, including Danchenko, who joined the FBI in March 2017 as a trusted source. The lack of interviews, according to Durham, was "disappointing."
Mr. Danchenko, as you may be aware, in the normal course, you have to advise people whether they are subjects or targets of investigations, and we did not get to the point where we could interview Mr. Danchenko.
"We located and spoke with a large number of FBI personnel."
Even though Durham and his team brought charges against three people during their investigation, only one of them—former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith—was a member of the federal law enforcement community. He was found guilty of changing an email about Carter Page, an adviser to the Trump campaign, and was given probation as punishment. Igor Danchenko, a source for the Steele Dossier, and Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann were both found not guilty of lying to the FBI.
The FBI launched the investigation in a "noticeable departure from how it approached prior matters involving possible attempted foreign election interference plans aimed at the Clinton campaign," according to Durham's final report, which was published on May 12. Durham further discovered that there was "no evidence in the Bureau's holdings indicating that at any point during the campaign anyone in the Trump campaign had been in contact with any Russian intelligence officials."
The report found that senior FBI officials were immediately aware of the holes in the prosecution's case against the Trump campaign. In August 2016, CIA Director John Brennan informed James Comey, then-Director of the FBI, and other top government officials that there were allegations of collusion between the Clinton campaign and other parties. Later, Brennan detailed the accusations in a letter to Comey and Peter Strzok, a former FBI special agent. According to the report, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe repeatedly denied leaking information to the press, Comey, and the Inspector General of the DOJ.
Have Jim Comey, Andrew McCabe, or Peter Strzok faced any consequences for these flagrant transgressions aside from termination? Has anyone brought them before a grand jury or filed any charges against them? If not, why not? Rep. Chip Roy of Texas questioned.
Durham refused to comment on the grand jury and did not provide an explanation for why he did not bring charges against the FBI agents.
Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina questioned Durham about his decision not to speak with important individuals mentioned in the report, including Danchenko, who joined the FBI in March 2017 as a trusted source. The lack of interviews, according to Durham, was "disappointing."
Mr. Danchenko, as you may be aware, in the normal course, you have to advise people whether they are subjects or targets of investigations, and we did not get to the point where we could interview Mr. Danchenko.
"We located and spoke with a large number of FBI personnel."
