Who appointed John Durham? Key findings from the Durham probe explored

On Monday, May 15, 2023, American lawyer John Durham released an investigative report on the FBI's probe into Donald Trump's alleged links to Russia. The lawyer's role in the investigation was announced on December 2020, when the Attorney General announced that John Durham had secretly been appointed by Congress to lead the investigation, dubbed the Durham Special Counsel Investigation.

John Durham's report criticized the FBI investigation known as Crossfire Hurricane.

The counterintelligence probe was based on links that Donald Trump had colluded with Russian government officials to illegally influence the 2016 US election. Durham, who had been appointed by the Trump administration when they were still in power, stated that the FBI had no right to launch an investigation against the former President.

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What were John Durham's conclusions about Donald Trump?

According to CNN, operation Hurricane Crossfire was officially opened on July 31, 2016, when Trump campaign supporter George Papadopoulos claimed that Russian officials had material that could damage the reputation of then candidate Hilary Clinton. This led to several agencies launching a probe into the possibility that the Russian government was attempting to influence the elections.

As reported by the New York Times, Donald Trump told the American public that rumours of his alleged ties to Russian officials were conspiracy theories. Trump alleged that his rivals had used the FBI and other investigative agencies in order to neutralise him as a political threat.

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN reporters that despite the fact that Durham had been appointed under the Trump administration, he was considered a serious and apolitical lawyer.

Politico reported that several Republicans were hoping that John Durham would prove Trump innocent of the allegations. Durham addressed how many right-wing supporters even wanted to level accusations against the FBI on charges of misconduct.

However, Durham instead said that despite the fact that there may have been some collusion between the Trump administration and Russian officials, there was no illegal activity involved.

Durham wrote:

“(We cannot prosecute) all unseemly or unethical conduct that political campaigns might undertake for tactical advantage."

Durham did charge three people associated with the FBI throughout his investigation. However, they were all indicted on charges unrelated to Hurricane Crossfire. He described them as people who had partaken in independent illegal activity while in the FBI, rather than people who had acted illegally on behalf of the agency.

The Hill noted that of the three people Durham indicted, he lost two of the cases that went to trial. The third suspect, former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, pleaded guilty to tampering with an email that was used to support a surveillance application.

John Durham ultimately concluded that while the FBI may not have acted illegally in investigating Trump, the agency needed to change the way it operated. He said that officials within the FBI need to scrutinize messages such as surveillance applications with more rigour. He also suggested that future investigations could explore potential political biases within agency investigations.

Durham wrote:

“Comparing the respective investigative activity was significant to the investigation since it could support or undercut allegations of institutional bias against either candidate."

Donald Trump responded positively to Durham's probe, describing the FBI investigation as a 'scam' against the American public.