The FBI acknowledged in a statement Monday afternoon that there were problems with its 2016 Trump-Russia investigation and that it has taken numerous actions to ensure that it does not happen again.
The FBI’s statement came in response to special counsel John Durham’s 320-page report on the origins of the investigation, which was released on Monday, that found that the FBI had no evidence to support launching the investigation and found “sobering” differences in how the FBI approached the Trump probe compared to other politically sensitive investigations.
“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 a 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 rigor, objectivity, and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect,” the statement added.
Statement on Report by Special Counsel John Durhamhttps://t.co/lcow0ea3mG pic.twitter.com/T4vXqoOMrp
— FBI (@FBI) May 15, 2023
Former President Donald Trump responded to the report by saying that Americans had been “scammed.”
“WOW! After extensive research, Special Counsel John Durham concludes the FBI never should have launched the Trump-Russia Probe!” Trump wrote on social media. “In other words, the American Public was scammed, just as it is being scammed right now by those who don’t want to see GREATNESS for AMERICA!”
Trump later said in an interview that the Democrats had started a “long-running and treasonous charade” and that “there must be a heavy price to pay for putting our country through this.”
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