FBI bias may taint Trump’s Mar-a-Lago probe, warns Jordan after Durham’s revelation.
Top Republican presses Attorney General on FBI’s role in Trump investigation
A top Republican is pressing Attorney General Merrick Garland on the FBI’s role in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump in the wake of special counsel John Durham’s report.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has written a letter to Garland, urging him to take action in light of Durham’s findings related to the faulty origin of the Trump-Russia investigation and the “failings” of the FBI. Jordan argues that “due to the FBI’s documented political bias, the Justice Department must ensure any ongoing investigations are not poisoned by this same politicization.”
The need for accountability and reforms within the FBI
“The Special Counsel’s report serves as a stark reminder of the need for more accountability and reforms within the FBI,” Jordan said of Durham. “Accordingly, as Congress conducts oversight to inform these legislative reforms, we write to ensure the Justice Department act to preserve the integrity and impartiality of ongoing investigations from the FBI’s politicized bureaucracy.”
Durham is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on June 21, and will also speak behind closed doors with the House Intelligence Committee, led by Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), the day prior.
Questions for Garland
Jordan has asked Garland to provide his committee with information about Smith’s use of the FBI, including whether any FBI employees who have worked on Smith’s investigation have previously worked on other investigations tied to Trump. Jordan also told the attorney general to reveal the number of FBI employees assigned to the special counsel investigation, including the number of employees from FBI Headquarters and the Washington Field Office working on it.
Jordan also asked Garland to “explain whether Special Counsel Smith’s investigation relies on any information or material gathered exclusively by the FBI prior to the Special Counsel’s appointment.” He asked for all of these answers by June 15.
Low public trust in the FBI
“Public trust in the FBI is low,” Jordan told Garland. “Recent examples of political bias in FBI and Department of Justice operations show that the so-called ‘corrective measures’ the FBI instituted after Crossfire Hurricane have done nothing to address, let alone cure, the institutional rot that pervades the FBI.”
Jordan also asked Garland to arrange a briefing by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco with the committee about matters related to Durham’s report, including on any “remedial measures” the Justice Department “has implemented to address the misconduct described in the report.”
Durham’s lengthy and “sobering” report concluded the FBI had no proper basis to launch the controversial 2016 election inquiry, which soon transformed into special counsel Robert Mueller’s sprawling investigation. The report also revealed the lack of clear evidence of Trump-Russia collusion, pointed to the Russian links behind British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s dossier, and concluded that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign played an outsize role in pushing such collusion claims to the media and the FBI.
“The extent of the FBI’s bias and reckless disregard for the truth, which Special Counsel Durham laid out in painstaking detail, is nothing short of scandalous,” Jordan wrote to Garland. “The FBI has tried to dismiss the report’s findings by claiming to have ‘already implemented dozens of corrective actions’ to prevent similar misconduct in the future. The FBI’s window dressing is not enough.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the DOJ for comment.
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