Durham Report Concludes FBI Should Not Have Launched Trump-Russia Probe But Disappoints Republicans

Special counsel John Durham has finally released his report surrounding the FBI investigation into the Donald Trump campaign and Russia. While it criticized the FBI for launching the investigation in the first place, it could not secure any additional convictions as Republicans had hoped.

CNN has obtained a copy of the Durham report, which concluded that the FBI used "raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence" to launch its "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation into Russia's involvement in the Trump campaign. However, it was pointed out that it had used a different standard to weigh in on concerns regarding the Hillary Clinton campaign election interference.

In his report, Durham wrote that the DOJ and the FBI "failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report" but stopped short of charging anybody. He recommended that both agencies have "wholesale changes" when handling "politically-charged" investigations.

However, Durham's conclusion was at odds with a previous DOJ Inspector General investigation into the FBI's Russia probe. That one concluded that there was sufficient justification to open the inquiry. However, Durham did admit that the FBI had adequate reason to open a preliminary assessment into the investigation.

What Is the Durham Report?

Special counsel John Durham was appointed by Trump Attorney General William "Bill" Barr to investigate the FBI for investigating the Trump campaign's connections to Russia, which Donald Trump called a "hoax."

Former President Donald Trump had hoped that the investigation would lead to "bombshell indictments of those who scrutinized the former president." However, after four years, it only led to one minor conviction and two acquittals for the Durham probe, including that of Hillary Clinton's campaign lawyer.

The only conviction it secured was against low-level FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith. However, he still avoided going to jail after he admitted to doctoring an email about a surveillance warrant.

The report did state that the FBI acted on "raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence" when investigating Trump's Russia connection, with the FBI repeatedly using "confirmation bias" and ignoring "information that undercut the initial premise of the investigation," according to the BBC.

Durham Report Disappoints Republicans

The Durham Report ended with an unusual conclusion for a criminal probe conducted under the Justice Department's special counsel regulations, as it only recommended how the DOJ and the FBI should change how they investigate politically-charged matters. He also did not propose any massive changes or the creation of new rules.

According to Politico, the report has disappointed Republicans as Durham failed to secure significant criminal convictions. Attorney General Merrick Garland has already sent the report in full, with no "additions, redactions, or other modifications" to members of Congress.

Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the "American public was scammed." However, the report did not do what the former president hoped it would do, and that was to uncover what he believes to be evidence of "really bad, evil, unlawful and unconstitutional" activities and "reveal corruption at a level never before seen in our country."

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: BREAKING: Durham report on handling of Trump-Russia investigation released to public - MSNBC