Durham to testify on flawed Russia probe.

Get ready for some explosive revelations! Special counsel John Durham is set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on his report about the FBI’s investigation into whether former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. And we’ve got all the details.

The hearing is scheduled for June 21, following Durham’s closed-door briefing with the House Intelligence Committee on June 20. Durham was appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr to conduct an independent inquiry into whether investigators violated the law in the Trump-Russia probe, which the FBI internally dubbed “Crossfire Hurricane.”

After nearly three years of investigation, Durham released his much-anticipated report on May 15, finding that the FBI failed to uphold its “important mission of strict fidelity to the law” in carrying out its investigation. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wasted no time in inviting Durham to testify on his findings at a committee hearing.

Findings

So, what did Durham find? Well, he noted clear discrepancies between the FBI’s handling of election interference allegations concerning Trump and those related to his political opponent, Hillary Clinton.

• He revealed that in late 2014, the FBI learned from a credible informant that a foreign government was planning to send an unnamed individual to contribute to Clinton’s anticipated presidential campaign to “gain influence with Clinton should she win the presidency.”
• The information was independently corroborated by the FBI and a full counterintelligence investigation was opened. However, when expedited authorization was sought for a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) surveillance order, the application remained “in limbo” at FBI Headquarters for about four months.
• Yet when it came to the allegations against Trump, Durham found that the FBI had little evidence to support opening an investigation, but did so anyway, relying heavily on unsubstantiated information provided or funded by Trump’s political opponents.

Durham also noted that the Crossfire Hurricane investigators pursued a FISA surveillance order against Trump campaign associate Carter Page despite acknowledging that there was likely no probable cause to suspect he was a foreign agent, and that they disregarded “significant” exculpatory information that “should have prompted investigative restraint and re-examination.”

What’s Next?

While Durham’s report reads as a scathing indictment of the FBI’s conduct, he recommended against “any wholesale changes in the guidelines and policies that the Department [of Justice] and the FBI now have.”

So, what will happen next? We’ll have to wait and see what Durham reveals during his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. But one thing’s for sure: this is going to be one explosive hearing!

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