MIAMI– “The rules of the Department of Justice (DOJ) must change so that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal entities lose their jobs and answer for their responsibility when they lie to misuse the spy powers of the government,” special counsel John Durham suggested to Congress.
Durham, who recently released a report on his review of the FBI’s handling of the 2016 Trump-Russia investigation, acknowledged that he found misconduct or “probably criminal” conduct, but that it would have been difficult to prosecute in a court of law, he said. The Epoch Times newspaper.
“The real difficulty, in my opinion, is trying to figure out how to hold people accountable for their conduct. It is not a simple problem to solve,” he testified before the House Judiciary Committee on June 21.
His report documented an enormous amount of misconduct, including the repeated use of false, discredited, and unverified information. The FBI dismissed exculpatory information, failed to interview key witnesses, all of which prompted an investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
The alleged “mistakes” or intentions of FBI managers and agents included the illegal surveillance Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
The FBI snooped on Page’s electronic communications based on a FISA warrant prepared with fabricated accusations that agents financed by the campaign of Trump’s opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, introduced into the FBI.
“There were significant flaws identified and documented in a unique and highly sensitive investigation conducted by the FBI,” argued special counsel Durham.
“I think the investigation clearly reveals that the decisions that were made were made in one direction. If there was anything that was inconsistent with the notion that Trump was engaged in a “well-coordinated conspiracy” with the Russians and so on, that information was largely dismissed or ignored and I think, unfortunately, that’s what the facts bear out.” , he pointed out.
Durham does not press charges
However, as both Republicans and Democrats on the committee noted, Durham did not file charges against the main players in the Russia investigation, code-named Crossfire Hurricane.
When asked about that point, Durham said he was following Justice Department guidelines that say a prosecutor should only bring charges if they’re sure they can prove them beyond a reasonable doubt, obtain a conviction at trial, and uphold it. on appeal.
“There is conduct that was probably criminal, but could not be proven. And that is true here. It appears in other cases as well,” he noted.
Rep. Cliff Bentz, Republican of Oregon, elaborated on that point:
“He may have found, and appears to have found, troubling violations of law and policy that might not lead to convictions. But it doesn’t make it any less wrong when our law enforcement agencies engage in this kind of unethical and irresponsible behavior and I think that’s why he called it troubling. Do I have that right?” Congressman Bentz asked the special counsel during the hearing.
“You have that right,” Durham responded.
“Obviously, there are things that go very wrong and sometimes we can’t condemn people for,” Bentz continued. “Or at least not to the level that justifies that approach. What should we do? the legislator questioned again.
Durham suggested new liability rules for investigations categorized as “Special Investigative Matters,” such as those involving a political campaign.
“Perhaps the time has come when, if an agent is going to sign a FISA application on a sensitive investigative matter, they not only understand that they are signing under penalty of perjury, but if the bureau determines that they intentionally misrepresented any information, their employment it will be terminated and will have to face the severity of Justice”, he said.
“When someone signs an affidavit, swears something before a judicial officer, there are consequences if it is not true. There are criminal sanctions, but there should be other sanctions as well.”
As for his own career as a federal prosecutor, Durham suggested that he would have sought accountability if he had seen FBI agents acting as they did during Crossfire Hurricane.
“There should be repercussions. If that ever happened with an agent he was working with, the first thing would be to report it to the Court and the second thing would be to report it to his superiors. The third thing would be (to guarantee) that this agent will never work with me again, ”he explained.
Durham, who resigned from the Justice Department in February 2021, concluded the six-hour hearing by saying, “I don’t think things can go much further with the view that law enforcement, particularly the FBI or the Department of Justice, they manage a two-tier justice system. The nation cannot bear these circumstances.”
For alleged Russian ties to Trump or members of his campaign or cabinet, fabricated by Hillary Clinton campaign advisers in 2016, the former president had to face two impeachment attempts by Congress.
