Politicians, media figures and legal experts are reacting to the release of the long-anticipated Durham report, which concluded that federal law enforcement agencies had a faulty basis for opening an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s purported relationship with Russia and alleged foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election loomed large throughout the Trump presidency and led to the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate the matter four months into his Oval Office tenure. Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his investigation in March 2019, which “did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”
Shortly thereafter, then-United States Attorney General Bill Barr appointed then-U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, which was given the name “Crossfire Hurricane.” The finished product of that investigation, the “Report on Matters Related to Intelligence Activities and Investigations Arising Out of the 2016 Presidential Campaigns,” was published Monday.
It concluded that “the FBI opened and investigated Crossfire Hurricane during the presidential election season based on raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence.” The release of the Durham report comes less than 18 months before the 2024 presidential election, where Trump is currently the frontrunner to receive the Republican nomination. CP.
