‘Uncorroborated intelligence’: Durham Report torches FBI, DOJ for handling of Trump-Russia probe

Arjun Singh

Contributor for the Epoch Times

Special Counsel John

Durham found that the FBI used “uncorroborated intelligence” when launching its probe into former President Donald Trump, and that FBI agents failed to maintain “strict fidelity to the law” in their investigation, according to a copy of the report obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Durham, appointed to investigate political bias by the FBI in its investigation of President Donald Trump, wrote that “neither U.S. nor the Intelligence Community appears to have possessed any actual evidence of collusion in their holdings at the commencement” of the investigation.

“Our investigation determined that the Crossfire Hurricane investigators did not and could not corroborate any of the substantive allegations contained in the Steele reporting,” the report read.

Durham added that the FBI “failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law.” Durham also claimed that the investigation into Trump was continued even after “the Director of the FBI and others learned of significant and potentially contrary intelligence,” according to the report.

The report noted that the FBI received intelligence that Hillary Clinton’s campaign approved “a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisors to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services,” specifically one that involved “tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee” to distract the public from her email scandals. It notes that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and FBI Director James Comey were personally briefed on Clinton’s scheme, known as the “Clinton Plan” in the report, by CIA Director John Brennan, who recorded mentioning the plan in his handwritten notes.

The “Clinton Plan” was obtained by the FBI while it was relying on the “Steele Dossier,” a discredited report of lurid allegations of Trump’s personal sexual activity, which the FBI knew was being funded and promoted by the Clinton campaign, according to the report. Durham quotes information from

Special counsel John Durham arrives at federal court in Washington on May 18, 2022. (Teng Chen for The Epoch Times) a meeting between the Dossier’s author, former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, and FBI agents, as well as texts between FBI officials, to demonstrate that the agents knew the evidence was connected to Clinton.

Front line agents who were conducting the investigation were not provided with the intelligence of the “Clinton Plan” by FBI leadership, with some only learning of it when interviewed by Durham’s office.

By contrast, top Clinton campaign officials denied that the material existed, with Campaign Chairman John Podesta and Senior Policy Advisor Jake Sullivan claiming that they “had not seen the declassified material before,” and that notions of any such plan were “ridiculous.” Sullivan is currently President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, while Podesta is a senior advisor to Biden on climate change.

The report further notes that officials at the Department of State’s Russia desk, in 2016, were also monitoring Trump’s campaign rhetoric and comparing it to “Putin-supported European right-wing candidates.” It states that this information was supplied to the Clinton campaign by former State Department officials, who claimed they were “sounding an internal alarm” about Trump and were “tracking” the rhetoric, which refers to assignments to Foreign Service Officers to closely monitor certain events.

Durham, who was appointed by Attorney General Bill Barr in 2019, was tasked with investigating the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign for alleged contact with the Russian government. That FBI investigation, led by Comey, who Trump fired shortly after assuming office, was later taken over by Special Counsel Robert Muller, who later reported that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump campaign officials and operatives of the Russian government.

Durham also faulted FBI agents for abusing surveillance laws, specifically the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), when investigating Trump campaign officials, such as foreign policy advisor Carter Page. Durham’s report concluded that FBI agents had a “predisposition to investigate Trump” even absent evidence of probable cause to do so.

By contrast, the report describes “disparate treatment” of Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by the FBI during the election, including when the FBI received intelligence that an unnamed foreign agent was traveling to the U.S. to contribute to her campaign. It notes that an application for a FISA warrant into this agent was submitted to FBI Headquarters by field agents for approval, but was left “in limbo for approximately four months… because everyone was ‘super more careful’ and scared with the big name [Clinton] involved,” according to the report.

The report also notes that the FBI failed to document intelligence of an “illegal contribution” made to Clinton’s campaign at the behest of a foreign government in exchange for political influence, which is illegal under U.S. law. It notes that the foreign operative who arranged the donation claimed that Clinton’s campaign officials “were fully aware from the start” of the plan.

“The FBI personnel also repeatedly disregarded important requirements when they continued to seek renewals of that FISA surveillance while acknowledging — both then and in hindsight — that they did not genuinely believe there was probable cause to believe that the target was knowingly engaged in clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of [a] foreign power,” the report read.

Durham’s investigation led to three indictments, one indictee being Michael Sussman, a former partner at left-wing law firm Perkins Coie and attorney for Clinton’s presidential campaign. He was later found not guilty of lying to federal agents.

Later, in an interview by Former Trump administration aide and Justice Department (DOJ) official Kash Patel, he gave his reaction to the released Durham Report.

“Turns out the only Russian assets were the FBI and the DOJ,” Patel said. “The underpinnings of this report are devastating to the FBI and DOJ.”

The former DOJ official went on to criticize Special Counsel John Durham’s refusal to bring in the FBI director and deputy director, who played instrumental roles in launching the investigation and signing what Patel refers to as “bogus warrants.” This omission raises questions about the thoroughness and impartiality of Durham’s inquiry.

“They didn’t have those facts because the DOJ and FBI lied, broke the law, violated their oath of office, and submitted fraudulent information they knew to be false,” Patel said. However, the former DoJ official is not optimistic that justice will be served.

There is no justification for Durham’s alleged inability to utilize the grand jury process and subpoena individuals, according to Patel. He dismissed Durham’s claim of not knowing how to perform these procedures, insisting that it is inaccurate and untenable.

“For him to come out and say, ‘I just didn’t know how to do that.’ Now, that doesn’t work. That’s not accurate. There’s no way he doesn’t know how to use the grand jury process and subpoena individuals,” Patel asserted.

Moreover, Patel accused highranking officials, including former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, and former FBI Director James Comey as well as current officials like FBI Director Chris Ray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, of prioritizing the protection of their institutions over affecting necessary reforms.

“The two-tier system of justice today continues because John Durham failed.” Comments for this article were taken from Kash’s Corner on EpochTV with Kash Patel.

Copyright 2023 The Epoch Times. Article and photos reprinted with permission of Epoch Times. To subscribe, go to subscribe. theepochtimes.com.

Florida representative claims FBI ‘afraid’ informant in Biden bribery scheme could be killed if ‘unmasked’

Caden Pearson

The Epoch Times

Rep. Anna Luna (R-Fla.) said on Monday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is afraid their confidential informant on an alleged criminal bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden and his family will be killed if their identity is revealed.

“Just left meeting for House Oversight. The [FBI] is afraid their informant will be killed if unmasked, based on the info he has brought forward about the Biden family,” Luna wrote on Twitter.

Luna posted her message after the FBI briefed the powerful

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on June 5 about the unclassified document alleging then-Vice President Joe Biden engaged in a $5 million bribery scheme with a foreign national in exchange for certain actions.

Following the closed-door briefing with FBI Director Christopher Wray, committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a statement saying that FBI officials confirmed that the “unclassified, FBI-generated record has not been disproven.”

The officials also repeatedly said the information contained within the record is currently being used in an ongoing investigation.

The information comes from a “trusted, highly credible” human informant who has cooperated with the FBI for years, Comer said. “These are facts and no amount of spin, and frankly lies, from the White House or Congressional Democrats can change this information,” he added.

Republicans will now move to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Wray after the FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee, Comer said.

“Given the severity and complexity of the allegations contained within this record,

Congress must investigate further,” Comer said. “Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially and demand answers, transparency, and accountability. The Oversight Committee must follow the facts for the American people and ensure the federal government is held accountable.”

On May 3, Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) disclosed the existence of an unclassified record held by the FBI. They stated that they were contacted by a highly reliable informant.

According to the record, there are specific accusations regarding a criminal plot in which Biden, during his time as vice president under the Obama administration, participated in a $5 million bribery scheme with a foreign individual. This scheme was purportedly aimed at gaining influence over policy decisions.

While Oversight Committee

Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and the White House have attempted to dispute the record’s credibility, Wray has since confirmed that it exists but has refused to release it to the panel.

Raskin has said the document was based on “allegations that went nowhere,” and the White House has downplayed the panel’s investigation as a “silly charade” aimed at hurting Biden’s reputation ahead of the 2024 elections. He doubled down on his position after viewing the document on June 5 alongside Comer.

Wray has said his decision not to comply with Comer’s subpoena last month was to protect sources and methods. Comer threatened to hold Wray in contempt of Congress if the files were not handed over in what has become a showdown between the FBI and House Republicans over the document.

Speaking to reporters on Monday night, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said the document is unclassified and, therefore, all Oversight Committee members should be able to view it.

“Everybody on that committee has the responsibility of oversight,” he said. “Wray needs to supply it to everybody on the committee. If not we will move forward with contempt proceedings.”

Luna told Fox News that the panel will hold a contempt hearing for Wray on Thursday. The Epoch Times contacted Luna for further comments.

“We are going to be bringing the FBI Director in before Congress for contempt of Congress proceedings as he is still conniving to shelter the Biden administration from its own sickening corruption,” she told the outlet.

The FBI told The Epoch Times in response to a previous inquiry that seeking to go ahead with contempt proceedings against Wray was “unwarranted.”

“The FBI has continually demonstrated its commitment to accommodate the committee’s request, including by producing the document in a reading room at the U.S. Capitol,” a spokesperson said.

“This commonsense safeguard is often employed in response to congressional requests and in court proceedings to protect important concerns, such as the physical safety of sources and the integrity of investigations. The escalation to a contempt vote under these circumstances is unwarranted.”

Joseph Lord and Jackson Richman contributed to this report