John Durham report on Trump-Russia stuff

[Jon Banks]

Devastating report for the FBI and the news media

As set forth in greater detail in Section IV, the record in this matter reflects that upon
receipt of unevaluated intelligence information from Australia, the FBI swiftly opened the
Crossfire Hurricane investigation. In particular, at the direction of Deputy Director Andrew
McCabe, Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Peter Strzok opened Crossfire
Hurricane immediately. 22 Strzok, at a minimum, had pronounced hostile feelings toward
Trump. 23 The matter was opened as a full investigation without ever having spoken to the
persons who provided the information. Further, the FBI did so without (i) any significant review
of its own intelligence databases, (ii) collection and examination of any relevant intelligence
from other U.S. intelligence entities, (iii) interviews of witnesses essential to understand the raw
information it had received or (iv) using any of the standard analytical tools typically employed
by the FBI in evaluating raw intelligence. Had it done so, again as set out in Sections IV.A.3.b
and c, the FBI would have learned that their own experienced Russia analysts had no information
about Trump being involved with Russian leadership officials, nor were others in sensitive
positions at the CIA, the NSA, and the Department of State aware of such evidence concerning
the subject. In addition, FBI records prepared by Strzok in February and March 2017 show that
at the time of the opening of Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI had no information in its holdings
indicating that at any time during the campaign anyone in the Trump campaign had been in
contact with any Russian intelligence officials. 24

The speed and manner in which the FBI opened and investigated Crossfire Hurricane
during the presidential election season based on raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated
intelligence also reflected a noticeable departure from how it approached prior matters involving
possible attempted foreign election interference plans aimed at the Clinton campaign. As
described in Section IV.B, in the eighteen months leading up to the 2016 election, the FBI was
required to deal with a number of proposed investigations that had the potential of affecting the
election. In each ofthose instances, the FBI moved with considerable caution. In one such
matter discussed in Section IV.B.l, FBI Headquarters and Department officials required
defensive briefings to be provided to Clinton and other officials or candidates who appeared to
be the targets of foreign interference. In another, the FBI elected to end an investigation after
one of its longtime and valuable CHSs went beyond what was authorized and made an improper
and possibly illegal financial contribution to the Clinton campaign on behalf of a foreign entity
as a precursor to a much larger donation being contemplated. And in a third, the Clinton
Foundation matter, both senior FBI and Department officials placed restrictions on how those
matters were to be handled such that essentially no investigative activities occurred for months
leading up to the election. These examples are also markedly different from the FBI' s actions
with respect to other highly significant intelligence it received from a trusted foreign source
pointing to a Clinton campaign plan to vilify Trump by tying him to Vladimir Putin so as to
divert attention from her own concerns relating to her use of a private email server. Unlike the
FBI's opening of a full investigation of unknown members of the Trump campaign based on raw,
uncorroborated information, in this separate matter involving a purported Clinton campaign plan,
the FBI never opened any type of inquiry, issued any taskings, employed any analytical
personnel, or produced any analytical products in connection with the information. This lack of
action was despite the fact that the significance of the Clinton plan intelligence was such as to
have prompted the Director ofthe CIA to brief the President, Vice President, Attorney General,
Director of the FBI, and other senior government officials about its content within days of its
receipt. It was also of enough importance for the CIA to send a formal written referral
memorandum to Director Corney and the Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's
Counterintelligence Division, Peter Strzok, for their consideration and action. 25 The
investigative referral provided examples of information the Crossfire Hurricane fusion cell had
"gleaned to date."26

https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf


Durham concluded that they wouldn't have needed to open full investigations if they followed the normal preliminary investigative stuff the FBI does before opening investigations...

[Martin Weidmann]

Devastating report for the FBI and the news media

https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf


Durham concluded that they wouldn't have needed to open full investigations if they followed the normal preliminary investigative stuff the FBI does before opening investigations...

Wow. Durham's opinion is that the FBI was to fast to open up a full investigation and that opinion is based on nothing but hot air.
It took him 4 years and that's all he could come up with.....  Hilarious!

Just because he wrote his opinion in a report doesn't mean it's of any significance.

It might have had some significance if it had resulted in consequences for those involved, but it didn't. A four year long "investigation" resulting in nothing! LOL

[Rick Plant]

It is amazing the radical leftists STILL won't admit this was a hoax.  It was baseless and laughable from beginning to end.  Any child knew that the media was acting as a state arm of propaganda.  Here is how it worked.  A Trump hating deep stater would leak a fake story to media outlet A who would report it.  Then every other leftist media outlet would report it as a fact citing the initial report as though that alone gave the story validity.  They didn't care whether it was true or not.  All that mattered to them was to get Trump.  The cover has been officially blown now.  It took seven years and won't do any good except for the history books that will look back upon this era the way we look at the McCarthy Red Scare.  A dark time of censorship, disinformation, and corrupt justice system to interfere in the US elections.  An actual insurrection attempt that finally paid off in 2020 election.

The post above is what you call propaganda.
 
It's amazing right wingers still won't admit there was Russian collusion when Criminal Donald and his own people ADMITTED to it. 

Trump ADMITTED his son Junior met with a Russian for information on his opponent. That is Russian collusion.

George Papadopoulos, a Trump aide, went to prison for lying to the FBI about meeting with Russians. Papadopoulos then plead guilty to lying to the FBI about meeting with Russians. That is Russian collusion.   

Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, ADMITTED he gave confidential Trump campaign information to a Russian Intelligence officer which was used to interfere in the 2016 election. That is Russian collusion. And right wingers still want to falsely claim Russian collusion is a "hoax" just to protect Criminal Donald.       

Trump Junior, Papadopoulos, and Manafort all met with Russians during the 2016 campaign. That activity raises a red flag to US Intelligence which is more than enough to warrant an FBI investigation into his campaign activity. 

For 4 years, right wingers continued to hype Durham's phony probe that turned up nothing. No evidence was found to charge anyone by Durham in his joke of a probe. And right wingers still continue to hype this "probe" pretending there was something there.   

Trump's people met with the Russians during the 2016 campaign and they all ADMITTED to it. And yet, right wingers still cry "hoax" and Durham meekly says "no FBI investigation should have happened" even after Trump and his henchmen ADMITTED to Russian collusion. It's absolutely hilarious how far these right wingers go to cover up for an orange criminal.         

Trump admits son met Russian for information on opponent
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45079377

Ex-Trump Aide Papadopoulos, 1st Charged In Russia Probe
George Papadopoulos, 31, pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI to conceal his contacts with Russians and Russian intermediaries during the presidential campaign
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/07/645539743/ex-trump-aide-papadopoulos-1st-charged-in-russia-probe-sentenced-to-14-days

Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort admits sharing info with Russians
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/paul-manafort-russia-polling-data-b2140727.html

U.S. has new intel that Manafort friend Kilimnik gave Trump campaign data to Russia
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-has-new-intel-manafort-friend-kilimnik-gave-trump-n1264371

[Rick Plant]

So Paul Manafort, Criminal Donald's 2016 campaign chairman ADMITTED that he shared campaign information with a Russian Intelligence officer and right wingers still want to falsely claim there was no Russian collusion and it was all a "hoax". LOL.

Manafort ADMITTED he gave Trump campaign information to a Russian intelligence officer. That's Russian collusion and enough to warrant an FBI investigation.

Durham is a joke, and his phony claim that "no FBI investigation should have happened" is pathetic when you have Trump's own head guy admitting to his crime after it happened.       

Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort admits sharing info with Russians
08 August 2022

Paul Manafort the chairman of former president Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, has admitted sharing confidential campaign polling data with a suspected Russian intelligence officer at the same time Moscow was interfering in the 2016 election on Mr Trump’s behalf.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/paul-manafort-russia-polling-data-b2140727.html

[Jon Banks]

Wow. Durham's opinion is that the FBI was to fast to open up a full investigation and that opinion is based on nothing but hot air.
It took him 4 years and that's all he could come up with.....  Hilarious!

Just because he wrote his opinion in a report doesn't mean it's of any significance.

It might have had some significance if it had resulted in consequences for those involved, but it didn't. A four year long "investigation" resulting in nothing! LOL

Former FBI agent, Kevin Clinesmith plead Guilty to altering a document in order to mislead the FISA court. Everyone seems to forget about his case.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/29/fbi-lawyer-trump-russia-probe-email-463750


Aside from that prosecution, yeah, Durham didn’t get any major scalps. But was that his goal?

Durham strikes me as a guy who is trying to get the FBI to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. I don’t believe he intended to take on the “deep state” or burn down the FBI.

In a democracy, unelected bureaucrats shouldn’t be doing politicized investigations. That was supposed to have ended when J. Edgar Hoover died.

The most interesting revelation in the report in my opinion is that Clinton’s campaign was already planning to push the Trump-Russia collusion narrative before the FBI started their investigations into Trump’s campaign. And Obama was briefed on it by his CIA director.

[Richard Smith]

The post above is what you call propaganda.
 
It's amazing right wingers still won't admit there was Russian collusion when Criminal Donald and his own people ADMITTED to it. 

Trump ADMITTED his son Junior met with a Russian for information on his opponent. That is Russian collusion.

George Papadopoulos, a Trump aide, went to prison for lying to the FBI about meeting with Russians. Papadopoulos then plead guilty to lying to the FBI about meeting with Russians. That is Russian collusion.   

Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, ADMITTED he gave confidential Trump campaign information to a Russian Intelligence officer which was used to interfere in the 2016 election. That is Russian collusion. And right wingers still want to falsely claim Russian collusion is a "hoax" just to protect Criminal Donald.       

Trump Junior, Papadopoulos, and Manafort all met with Russians during the 2016 campaign. That activity raises a red flag to US Intelligence which is more than enough to warrant an FBI investigation into his campaign activity. 

For 4 years, right wingers continued to hype Durham's phony probe that turned up nothing. No evidence was found to charge anyone by Durham in his joke of a probe. And right wingers still continue to hype this "probe" pretending there was something there.   

Trump's people met with the Russians during the 2016 campaign and they all ADMITTED to it. And yet, right wingers still cry "hoax" and Durham meekly says "no FBI investigation should have happened" even after Trump and his henchmen ADMITTED to Russian collusion. It's absolutely hilarious how far these right wingers go to cover up for an orange criminal.         

Trump admits son met Russian for information on opponent
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45079377

Ex-Trump Aide Papadopoulos, 1st Charged In Russia Probe
George Papadopoulos, 31, pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI to conceal his contacts with Russians and Russian intermediaries during the presidential campaign
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/07/645539743/ex-trump-aide-papadopoulos-1st-charged-in-russia-probe-sentenced-to-14-days

Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort admits sharing info with Russians
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/paul-manafort-russia-polling-data-b2140727.html

U.S. has new intel that Manafort friend Kilimnik gave Trump campaign data to Russia
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-has-new-intel-manafort-friend-kilimnik-gave-trump-n1264371

Plain and simple, This was a hoax.  Those behind it knew it was a hoax.  You know it is a hoax.  The most baseless and outlandish conspiracy theory in history.  You should be ashamed to be still be peddling this falsehood now that it officially debunked.  Why not for one single time put politics aside and admit this was wrong?  It was also wrong to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop as a product of Russian disinformation.  It was also wrong for social media outlets to censor any suggestion that COVID originated in the Wuhan lab. 

[Jon Banks]

British intelligence found FBI Russia collusion probe so absurd it stopped helping

British intelligence expressed skepticism about the FBI's investigation into the Donald Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia in 2016, and eventually became so concerned it stopped cooperating, according to evidence made public in Special Counsel John Durham's recent report.

Durham highlighted an exchange between an intelligence official and the FBI's legal attache office in London (ALAT) in which the latter relayed concerns about the flimsiness of the evidence, especially as it related to former Trump campaign aides George Papadopoulos and Carter Page.

"Dude, are we telling them [British Intelligence Service-1]  everything we know, or is there more to this?" he asked "Supervisory Special Agent-1." "That's all we have... not holding anything back," was the reply, prompting ALAT to retort "Damn that's thin."

The FBI legat in London "went on to tell the Inspection Division that in discussing the matter with a senior British Intelligence Service-I official, the official was openly skeptical, said the FBI's plan for an operation made no sense, and asked UK ALAT-1 why the FBI did not just go to  Papadopoulos and ask him what they wanted to know, a sentiment UK ALA T-I told investigators that he shared," he wrote.

The Brits' concern escalated throughout 2016 and 2017, eventually resulted in a UK intelligence officer refusing to aid the FBI any further, Durham's report revealed.

"Later in the Fall of 2016, UK ALAT-1 was at FBI Headquarters with some of his British Intelligence Service-I counterparts. While there, members of the Crossfire Hurricane team played the audio/visual recordings of CHS-1 's August 20, 2016 meeting with Carter Page," Durham wrote. "UK ALAT-1 said the effect on the British Intelligence Service-I personnel was not positive because of the lack of any evidence corning out of the conversation."

"UK ALAT-1 told the OIG that after watching the video one of his British colleagues said, 'For [expletive] sake, man. You went through a lot of trouble to get him to say nothing,'" the report said.

By the time Robert Mueller was named special counsel to take over the FBI investigation, British intelligence had had enough.

"At a later point in time, after the Mueller Special Counsel team was in place, UK ALAT-1 said that 'the Brits finally had enough,' and in response to a request for some assistance '[a British Intelligence Service-I person] basically said there was no [expletive] way in hell they were going to do it.'"

Retired FBI intelligence chief Kevin Brock told Just the News last week that Durham exposed just how much the discredited Russia collusion probe "disrupted the country and besmirched the good reputation of the FBI.

"The FBI essentially was hijacked by a handful of senior executives who had an agenda, who did not like Donald Trump, and who used the awesome powers of the FBI to launch an investigation against all policy, against all legal guidelines and restrictions that would prevent the misuse of the FBI," Brock said.

https://justthenews.com/world/europe/tueuk-intelligence-wouldnt-help-trump-russia-investigation?utm_source=mux&utm_medium=social