Special Counsel John Durham said FBI agents approached him to apologize for the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
During testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Durham spoke about his report that criticized the FBI over its probe into alleged links between Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
“Our findings were sobering. I can tell you, having spent 40 years-plus as a federal prosecutor, they were particularly sobering to me,” Durham said.
House Judiciary Committee John Durham Testimony
.@RepMikeJohnson: "You said that your findings and conclusions are sobering…Why?"
DURHAM: "I have had any number of FBI agents…who have come to me and apologized for the manner in which that investigation [Crossfire Hurricane]… pic.twitter.com/3kdf4RE8II
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 21, 2023
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) later asked Durham to explain why his findings were sobering.
“Let me give you some real-life views,” Durham said. “I have had any number of FBI agents who I’ve worked with over the years — some of them are retired, some of them are still in place — who have come to me and apologized for the manner in which that investigation was undertaken.”
Durham said he believes the majority of the FBI’s personnel are “decent human beings” who swear under their oaths to abide by the law.
John Durham:
"Our findings were sobering. Anybody who actually reads the report would find that the problems identified in the report are not susceptible to overnight fixes. What is required is accountability!" pic.twitter.com/h2Xybjri1w
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) June 21, 2023
“There were investigative activities undertaken or not undertaken here which raise real concerns about whether or not the law was followed, the policies in place at the FBI were followed,” Durham said.
After a years-long investigation, Durham concluded his probe, and the Department of Justice released his report last month. It accused the FBI of “confirmation bias” and being too quick to open a full-fledged investigation into the Russia matter.
Durham secured one guilty plea over the course of his investigation: that of former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who was accused of falsifying a document in efforts to renew the authority to conduct FISA surveillance on onetime Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page. Clinesmith was spared prison time and faced a one-year bar suspension.
In a statement responding to Durham’s report, the FBI said it “already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time.” The bureau also said Durham’s 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.”
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Durham said in his opening statement that he is “encouraged” by some reforms the FBI has implemented but stressed that “the problems identified in the report are not susceptible to overnight fixes.”
The special counsel added: “As we said in the report, they cannot be addressed solely with enhanced training or additional policy requirements. Rather, what is required is accountability — both in terms of the standards to which our law enforcement personnel hold themselves and in the consequences they face for violations of law or policy.”