Durham Report reveals eight unexpected findings, including Clinton collusion and Russian spies.

Chuck RossMay 18, 2023

Special Counsel John Durham’s Report Reveals Shocking Discoveries About FBI’s Investigation of Trump Campaign

For years, Republicans have claimed that the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign was flawed, and Special Counsel John Durham’s report largely confirms their suspicions. Durham found that the FBI opened the probe, known as Crossfire Hurricane, with flimsy evidence and mishandled the infamous Steele dossier, which falsely claimed the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin. However, there are some surprises in the 320-page report. Here are eight of Durham’s most illuminating discoveries:

FBI Ignored “Clinton Plan” Intelligence

CIA director John Brennan received an intelligence report that Hillary Clinton personally approved a plan to link Trump to Russia in order to distract from the controversy surrounding her emails.
The FBI failed to factor the plan into its decision making for Crossfire Hurricane, the counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign.
The Clinton campaign funded the discredited Steele dossier and fed reporters with a false claim that Trump’s companies had secret communications with Russia’s Alfa Bank.

Durham blasted the FBI for its “startling and inexplicable failure” to take the “Clinton plan” into account.

Bureau Brass Killed Clinton Foundation Investigations

Director Comey and deputy director Andrew McCabe ordered three FBI field offices to close their preliminary investigations into whether foreign governments and businesses donated to the Clinton family charity in order to influence Hillary Clinton.
Comey ordered the New York field office to “cease and desist” from its Clinton Foundation investigation because of an undisclosed counterintelligence issue.

Durham highlighted Comey and McCabe’s intervention in the Clinton Foundation probe to contrast the FBI leaders’ aggressive approach to Crossfire.

Mueller Team Investigators Worried About Political Influence

Two members of the Mueller team expressed concern that an investigation into the Steele dossier was shut down for political reasons.
Investigators had that same month interviewed dossier author Christopher Steele.
Senior Mueller prosecutor Jeannie Rhee ordered them to shut down their investigation of the Steele dossier because it was “not within the scope” of Mueller’s investigation.

The FBI Thought a Steele Dossier Source Was a Russian Spy. They Paid Him $220K Anyway.

The FBI investigated Igor Danchenko, the primary source for the discredited Steele dossier, as a possible Russian spy in 2010.
The FBI’s Trump team investigators were aware of this when they interviewed Danchenko in 2017 about his role in the Steele dossier.
FBI agents recruited Danchenko as a confidential human source (CHS) and paid him $220,000 through October 2020.

Durham said the arrangement was problematic because the FBI was unable to assess whether the information that Danchenko gave to Steele “was, in whole or in part, Russian disinformation.”

FBI Killed Its Danchenko Probe Because It ‘Mistakenly’ Thought He Left The Country

Investigators obtained a foreign surveillance warrant on Danchenko in 2010 but shut it down the next year after they “mistakenly” believed Danchenko left the country. Durham raises major concerns that a top analyst on Crossfire Hurricane, Brian Auten, was involved in the initial Danchenko investigation but did not notify others on the Crossfire Hurricane team that the dossier source was a suspected Russian spy.

Top Crossfire Hurricane Investigator Had Early Doubts About Probe

Peter Strzok, the former deputy chief of FBI counterintelligence, opened the probe into the Trump campaign but expressed early reservations about the basis for the investigation. Despite those concerns, Strzok would direct the major investigative steps in Crossfire Hurricane, including oversight of analysis of the Steele dossier.

Major FBI Informant Fed Handlers Lies About Trump Aide

Stefan Halper, a longtime confidential FBI source, gave his FBI handlers false information about Trump aide Carter Page, according to Durham. Halper secretly recorded conversations with three Trump campaign aides at the behest of the FBI. Durham describes an incident in which Halper falsely claimed to his FBI handler that Page admitted he met with Russian official Igor Sechin during a trip to Moscow. But according to Durham, a transcript of Halper’s conversation with Page showed that Page actually denied meeting with Sechin.

Comey Drove Trump Campaign Surveillance

The Durham report shows that Comey pushed aggressively for the faulty Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants against Page. Going after Page was “a top priority” for Comey, an intelligence agent told Durham. The Justice Department inspector general found that the FBI under Comey’s watch made 17 significant omissions in the surveillance warrants, including failures to disclose major inconsistencies in the Steele dossier.