According to the report on Special Counsel John H. Durham which was unclassified, it reveals that the FBI misbehaved in the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation – the investigation into the Trump-Russia hoax. It also confirms that there was no reason for opening an investigation.
The personnel from the agencies did not follow the protocols to prevent abuse and unjustified investigations. Their treatment of the allegations against the Clinton campaign was much more favorable than that against the Trump campaign.
Durham concludes “confirmation bias” is a tendency of FBI personnel to accept statements that are not substantiated because they “have profoundly hostile feelings toward Trump”.
The FBI ignored or discounted material information which did not support the narrative that Trump and Russia were in collusion…An objective, honest assessment…should’ve caused the FBI not only to question the prediction for Crossfire Hurricane but also to consider whether it was being manipulated by political or other reasons. It did not.
Durham’s findings are in line with the FBI Inspection Division report. The FBI Inspector Division stated that FBI investigators “repeatedly discounted or explained away any evidence that was counter to the Trump campaign theory that they conspired… There was a lot of assumption about malicious intent. ”
The FBI made a mistake by not consulting its “own Russian analyst”, who could have informed the investigators that they didn’t know “if Trump was involved with Russian leadership officials.” The FBI failed to consult other intelligence analysts at “the CIA, NSA, and Department of State.”
The Durham Report’s findings on how the FBI handled the Crossfire Hurricane Case are damaging to its reputation as a law enforcement agency. This is in addition to recent damaging reports by whistleblowers that have exposed the lack of professionalism and bias within the FBI ranks and leadership. The Hunter Biden Investigation and the use of informants by Catholic Churches are all included.
Crossfire Hurricane was a disaster for the agency, and it destroyed innocent lives like Carter Page. The agency’s bungling of the Crossfire Hurricane led to a multimillion-dollar investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that in many ways crippled Trump’s presidency for most of his term.
Durham conducted a “broad” and “extensive” investigation that included 480 interviews, and the review of over six million pages. Some of those witnesses only provided information “under a subpoena or grant of immunity,” while others who “had important and relevant information…refused to be interviewed or to otherwise cooperate.” Peter Strzok was one of the main organizers of the miscarriage, according to the report. He is the former deputy assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
Durham spends 306 pages listing all the mistakes, gaffes, and errors made by FBI agents. These included:
- The Crossfire Hurricane Investigation’s hypothesis was not supported by any intelligence information.
- Information “significantly exculpatory” could have been obtained by the investigation “during telephone recordings”.
- Failing to “pursue investigative leads that were inconsistent with their theory”;
- Ignoring the fact that FBI investigators “were never able to confirm any substantive allegation in the Steele dossier”, which was the main justification for the investigation.
- Failing to “examine, let alone resolve, serious counterespionage issues surrounding” Igor Danchenko — the main source for the Steele dossier — a dossier that was paid for and ordered by the Clinton campaign as a political disinformation tool.
- “Other highly relevant information” was not included in the FISA application, and it was “only partially” and “sometimes misleadingly” completed. This “cast doubt” on the “probable cause” assertions made by the federal judges who approved electronic surveillance of Trump campaign officials.
Steele’s report would reveal that they ignored the information Steele received about “Charles Dolan”, a long-time Democratic activist who was close to the Clintons and had ties with Russian officials. They never even interviewed him.
It was almost the same moment that the Crossfire Hurricane investigation began. The FBI intelligence report “basically disregarding the Clinton Intelligence Plan” was delivered. The report stated that Hillary Clinton had approved a plan “to stir up a controversy” against Trump by “tying” him to Putin and “Russian hacking”, of the Democratic National Committee, as a way to “distract” the public from her use of a private mail server. ”
Durham does not make a final decision on the existence of a conspiracy. Durham’s report does not make a definitive decision about the existence of such a conspiracy.
This information was “arguably relevant and exculpatory”, as it suggested that materials like the Steele dossier, created by contractors to help the campaign, were part of a “political attempt” to smear a political opponent and use federal law enforcement agencies and intelligence services to support a particular political goal.
The FBI leadership “essentially overlooked” the intelligence provided to President Barack Obama by Vice President Joe Biden.
Durham compares how the Trump investigation was handled to the FBI’s failure to investigate the claims of “foreign influences” on the Clinton Campaign through foreign interests contributions, in exchange for the “protection” of foreign countries’ interests should Clinton be elected President.
The FBI quickly stopped preliminary investigations into Foundation claims. Durham said that James Comey had instructed his office to “cease” and “cease” its investigation due to an “undefined counterintelligence concern”.
Durham said that while the FBI and Department of Justice appeared to have legitimate concerns about the Foundation Investigation taking place so near the presidential election “it didn’t appear that they expressed similar concerns concerning the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation.” Durham noted that a senior law-enforcement official confirmed Crossfire Hurricane’s existence only one month after it was launched in an article by Michael Isikoff.
The FBI didn’t extend the same courtesy to the Trump campaign. The FBI did the same thing for the Clinton Campaign, but not the Trump Campaign. FBI had a similar problem with the Clinton Campaign. They also provided a defensive briefing to the Clinton Campaign in the investigation. This was a probe that relied on corroborated information.
In the fall of 2016, the FBI asked the British to help them with a case. They refused. According to the FBI liaison, the British “finally” had had enough and there was “no chance in hell that they’d do it.”
Durham explains to the public that it is difficult for the government to prove the elements of a criminal offense “beyond a reasonable doubt” under criminal laws and constitutional protections. ” A person’s bad judgment, or even their horribly poor judgment, does not constitute a crime. ”
While it is not illegal for a person to act in an unethical, or unsympathetic manner during a campaign, this can be criminalized. Before a citizen can be found guilty, prosecutors have to prove that the person has actually acted criminally and not simply out of negligence or recklessness.
Durham is a man of integrity and has produced a thorough, in-depth report which lays the groundwork for any disciplinary actions against employees who mishandled Crossfire Hurricane.
Durham only spends one short page on the need for reforms at the FBI. Congress needs to investigate and hold hearings in order to determine the necessary reforms to stop this abuse by the FBI, which is the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency.
One final note. With the support of media supporters and the FBI’s Keystone Cops the Clinton campaign and its law firm, and their inept, or nefarious, missteps got away with some dirty, unethical, and unprofessional political tricks in American history.
It may take some time to resolve this serious problem.
