Special counsel John Durham, who was appointed to investigate the FBI’s probe into connections between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia to influence 2016 presidential elections, released his final report. The long-awaited report spanning over 300 pages has strongly criticized the FBI’s handling of the investigation and said the agency’s inquiry had lacked ‘analytical rigor’.
The report concluded that the FBI had not possessed ‘actual evidence’ of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia before starting the investigation. However, Durham raises concerns about the FBI’s decision to launch a full investigation, criticizing the bureau for failing to uphold its commitment to strict fidelity to the law.
The FBI responded that it had addressed the issues highlighted in the report.
In the report, Durham stated that the FBI had used ‘raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated evidence’ to launch ‘Crossfire Hurricane’, the investigation into Trump and Russia. It also pointed out that the FBI had a different stand when concerns arose related to Hilary Clinton’s campaign.
Durham report also claims of FBI personnel bias as certain officers involved in the probe exhibited a predisposition to open an investigation into Trump.
Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said the Durham report showed that the ‘American public was scammed’. He cited the report’s conclusion that there had not been enough evidence to warrant a full investigation by the FBI. He considers it as an opportunity to claim vindication and reinforce his narrative of being a victim of a politically motivated investigation.
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