Durham report: Trump-era special counsel blasts FBI conduct in Russia inquiry

John Durham, the longest-serving special counsel, did not issue any criminal charges or major changes to future investigations

John Durham was appointed to investigate potential government wrongdoing in the early days of the Trump-Russia probe. AP

US special counsel John Durham on Monday faulted the FBI and the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election.

He did not, however, issue any new charges or recommend significant changes to investigative procedures in his the 306-page final report on the issue.

Mr Durham, the longest-serving special counsel, concluded in his four-year investigation that the federal government’s own inquiry had failed to rigorously meet investigative standards both in opening the investigation in 2016 and in conducting it.

“We conclude that the department and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities” investigated by Mr Durham, the report said.

The announcement ends a highly anticipated investigation that fell far short of Mr Trump’s claims that it would reveal a conspiracy to spy on him and undercut his presidency.

Mr Durham was tapped in April 2019 by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s predecessor, William Barr, to determine whether FBI or intelligence officials had committed crimes in conducting the so-called Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign.

He also concluded that officials treated Mr Trump and his campaign differently than they did the campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton, who was his rival in 2016.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said he plans to have Mr Durham give evidence on the report publicly next week.

The FBI issued a statement on Monday saying that reforms have been made since the time that Mr Durham investigated.

“The conduct in 2016 and 2017 that Special Counsel Durham examined was the reason that current FBI leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time,” the FBI said in the statement.

“Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented.

“This report reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI continues to do its work with the rigour, objectivity and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect.”

Mr Trump and his conservative allies made repeated and unsubstantiated claims that a cabal of “deep state” figures illegally spied on his 2016 campaign and took action to sabotage his administration after he was elected.

They were counting on Mr Durham to uncover scandals to back up their assertions.

The Republican presidential candidate posted on Truth Social, saying: “WOW! … the American public was scammed”.

In the end, though, Mr Durham’s investigation only led to charges against three low-level figures, two of whom were acquitted by a jury.

Mr Durham’s work has gone on longer than the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

By comparison, the Mueller investigation resulted in 34 indictments, the conviction of a Trump campaign manager, Paul Manafort, for unrelated financial crimes and a guilty plea from Mr Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, for lying to the FBI.

Mr Trump pardoned the two men before leaving office.

Most of the people indicted by Mr Mueller were Russian officials who have never been apprehended by the US to be prosecuted.

Mr Mueller also documented almost a dozen examples of possible obstruction of justice by Mr Trump, and his investigation exposed a massive criminal conspiracy by Russian operatives to interfere in the 2016 election.

Bloomberg contributed to this report