John Durham: FBI and CIA deliberarely interfered with 2020 election, weaponized investigation into Trump, covered up Hillary crimes
POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Thursday, May 15, 2025 13:45
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The failure of the Durham report
Durham tried to prove a Democratic plot to frame Trump. He couldn’t.
By Andrew Prokop, May 16, 2023, 2:20pm EDT
Despite the hype from Trump allies that Durham would prove criminal conduct by top government officials or Democrats and reveal a perfidious plot to frame the former president, the probe has ended with two failed prosecutions, one guilty plea, and a 306-page report released publicly Monday with harsh words about certain officials but little new information.
Buried in the middle of the report is a section explaining why Durham went down the rabbit hole for so long — laying out what he tried and failed to prove.
Basically, Durham became enamored of an intelligence analysis by the Russian government from 2016 which had made it into American hands. The Russians assessed, per then-CIA Director John Brennan’s summarized notes, that Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to “vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services.” However, the US intelligence community did not know whether this Russian assessment was accurate.
Durham appears to have believed this could be the Rosetta Stone decoding the Trump/Russia scandal. Through his team’s suspicious eyes, this Russian analysis could blow the whole thing wide open — revealing the whole scandal as, per the phrase repeatedly used by the report, a “Clinton Plan.” Maybe top DOJ and Obama White House officials were in on the plan and helping it along to hurt Trump. Further, if Clinton allies had given knowingly false information to the government in the hope of getting Trump investigated, that would be criminal.
But the reality fell far short of Durham’s hopes — as the report he produced attests. And in its discussions of the supposed “Clinton plan,” Durham’s investigation has been revealed to be sloppy and misleading, and betrays the kind of partisan bias it had projected on its adversaries.
Why Durham fixated on a “possible Clinton campaign plan” about Trump and Russia
The intelligence that Durham fixated on remains classified, so specific details aren’t present in his public report. But the New York Times described it earlier this year — they were memos “written by Russian intelligence analysts and discussing purported conversations involving American victims of Russian hacking.” A Dutch agency hacked Russian government servers and obtained these memos, and provided them to the CIA.
Per the Times, these memos were “dubious sources,” making “demonstrably inconsistent, inaccurate, or exaggerated claims,” with some US analysts thinking they contained deliberate disinformation.
One of the memos claimed that Hillary Clinton approved a plan to stir up a scandal blaming Trump for the Russian hacks of Democratic emails. Brennan mentioned this intelligence during a broader White House briefing on Russian interference with top officials (including Obama, Biden, and FBI Director James Comey) in August 2016.
But no one seems to have viewed this intelligence as particularly important or convincing, or to have done much about it.
Durham argues that this was a damning failure. “Taken at face value,” he writes, this intelligence “was arguably highly relevant and exculpatory” toward Trump. He also argues that the lack of interest in it made a stark contrast to how investigators treated the dubious reports from the Steele dossier.
To the extent there’s drama in the rather dry Durham report, it’s here. Durham’s team showed portions of the intelligence to one top special agent who’d worked on the Trump/Russia probe, and the report says that the agent “became visibly upset and emotional” when reading it, left the room, and returned to “state emphatically that he had never been apprised of the Clinton Plan intelligence,” expressing “a sense of betrayal that no one had informed him.”
But others either didn’t buy that the claim was accurate, or thought Durham’s team was wildly exaggerating its importance. Another agent, who did recall seeing the intelligence, told Durh
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Quote:SECOND- Every one of your posts show that you don't understand anything. Not even the Kissinger quote.
Originally posted by second:Quote:Signym, your understanding of justice is weaker than your understanding of the Henry Kissinger quote that you use as your signature.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
You expect justice from a demonstrably politicized justice system?
None so blind as he who will not see, SECOND. But, hey, keep denying reality. Why change now?
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
Here is what Kissinger actually said:
Henry Kissinger said in November 1968, after Richard Nixon was elected U.S. president but before he took office: “Nixon should be told that it is probably an objective of Clifford to depose Thieu (South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu—ed.) before Nixon is inaugurated. Word should be gotten to Nixon that if Thieu meets the same fate as Diem, the word will go out to the nations of the world that it may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”
The quotation referred to America’s role in Vietnam. If America doesn’t stand by its friends and allies, the quotation explains, then it might ultimately be less dangerous to be America’s enemy.
Much more at
https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/it_may_be_dan
gerous_to_be_americas_enemy_but_to_be_americas_friend_is_fatal
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
But hey, keep your head up your ass.
Why change now?
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
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Quote:
FBI Responds To Durham Report, Acknowledges 'Missteps'
...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 wrote in a statement published hours after the Department of Justice (DOJ) published the Durham report (pdf) on its website on Monday.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/fbi-responds-to-durham-report-acknowledg
es-missteps_5267486.html
Oh, yeah. All the "corrective actions" are why the FIB then worked mightily to cover up the Hunter Biden laptop and Biden family grift.
"Missteps", my ass.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
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Quote:Signym, do you see how sentence 1) means the opposite of sentence 2) despite all the words in 1) being included in 2) ?
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
SECOND- Every one of your posts show that you don't understand anything. Not even the Kissinger quote.
But hey, keep your head up your ass.
Why change now?
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
1) "It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."
2) “Word should be gotten to Nixon that if Thieu meets the same fate as Diem, the word will go out to the nations of the world that It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Look at all the defense Second's Media Masters have been running today.
Who gives a shit who was busted by the report?
Bottom line is that Trump was fucked by Leftists, once again. And this one was by the previous administration and before he was even President.
Everything you think you know about Trump is a lie, fuckface.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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Quote:Executive summary from CoffeeTimeNews:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Look at all the defense Second's Media Masters have been running today.
Who gives a shit who was busted by the report?
Bottom line is that Trump was fucked by Leftists, once again. And this one was by the previous administration and before he was even President.
Everything you think you know about Trump is a lie, fuckface.
Hillary Clinton, Mueller and the FBI have been fully EXONERATED in the Durham investigation. No charges will be filed. They will not be locking her up.
Barbara McQuade elaborates:
After four years, review of 1 million documents, 490 interviews, his conclusion is that FBI should have opened a preliminary investigation (PI) instead of a full investigation (FI) in 2016.
[According to Trump, this was the “crime of the century.”]
The only difference between FI and PI is the duration and the authorities that may be used. This is a hairsplitting quibble, and one on which FBI officials routinely disagree.
Durham also minimizes the reasons FBI was alarmed enough to open a FI in 2016 based on information received from Australian diplomats about Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos.
According to Aussies, Papadopoulos said, “Trump team had received some kind of suggestion from Russia that it could assist this process with the anonymous release of information during the campaign that would be damaging to Mrs Clinton.”
Papadopoulos’s statement came right after the DNC hack. FBI was properly concerned about Russia’s efforts to influence the presidential election. This was an investigation into RUSSIA.
Trump had other concerning ties to Russians: real estate deals, Miss Universe Pageant, loans from Russian lenders, Trump Tower Moscow project. Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort had lobbied for pro-Russian oligarchs.
Trump campaign members also had ties to Russia. Mike Flynn was paid $45,000 by Russia Today in 2015 for a speech he gave at a banquet where he sat next to Putin. He later lied to FBI about his calls with the Russian ambassador about sanctions during the transition.
Carter Page had been seen meeting with Russian intel officers. It now appears that he was unaware that they were trying to recruit him. Papadopoulos worked to set up a meeting with Putin.
Durham criticizes the FBI for relying on the Steele Dossier for the Carter Page FISA. Steele Dossier was not the basis for opening the investigation, but it makes for a useful scapegoat to blur that fact.
We now know FBI was unable to corroborate the Steele Dossier, which contained explosive details about Russian kompromat on Trump. That’s 20/20 hindsight. And, importantly, Durham never says the information in it was false, just unconfirmed.
In fact, some aspects of Steele Dossier were confirmed by Mueller and DNI: Putin favored Trump and was working to influence the election in Trump’s favor and against Clinton. It also contained unconfirmed information that could have seriously compromised Trump as president.
Failing to investigate these ties would have been a breach of duty by FBI. This was an investigation into RUSSIA. Russia was the threat and the focus. Trump was just Russia’s useful idiot.
Page FISA also was based on an e-mail altered by an FBI lawyer. That lawyer was identified by IG, not Durham, and he was properly convicted for making false statements. Mueller disregarded all aspects of Page FISA.
In addition to criticizing the FBI for opening a FI instead of a PI, Durham also ignores other facts and helps advance the narrative that the Russia investigation was a hoax.
Like Barr, Durham says Mueller found no conspiracy between Trump and Russia but fails to mention the 2016 Trump Tower meeting to receive dirt on Clinton, sharing of polling data with Russian intel officer Konstantin Kilimnik, and coordinating of messaging with Wikileaks.
Durham also ignores Trump’s public statement, “Russia, if you’re listening
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The inevitable blizzard of lies, excuses, and rationalizations from SECOND.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
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Quote:
FBI Leadership Sabotaged Clinton Foundation Investigations: Durham Report
Remember the Clinton Foundation? Which, took millions in foreign donations when everyone thought Hillary Clinton was going to win the 2016 US election, only to see donations plummet by 90% after she lost?
To review:
FBI Informant Testifies: Moscow Routed Millions To Clinton Foundation In "Russian Uranium Dominance Strategy"
FBI Informant "Threatened" After Offering Details Linking Clinton Foundation To Russian Bribery Case
FBI Raids Home Of New Clinton Foundation, Uranium One Whistleblower
Leaked Memo Exposes Shady Dealings Between Clinton Foundation Donors And Bill's "For-Profit" Activities
DOJ And Clinton Lawyers Struck Secret Deal To Block FBI Access To Clinton Foundation Emails: Strzok
Now we learn, thanks to the Durham report, that the FBI had three concurrent investigations into the Clinton Foundation, which were shut down during the 2016 election year by top brass.
As attorney and political commentator Techno Fog notes at The Reactionary (emphasis ours);
Durham’s scope included the FBI investigations “directed” at the Hillary Clinton campaign. It seems the purpose of that review was to assess and compare the favorable treatment received by Clinton to the targeting of Trump.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fbi-leadership-sabotaged-clinton-f
oundation-investigations-durham-report
https://technofog.substack.com/p/a-deeper-dive-into-the-durham-report
Without looking TOO deeply into the matter, it appears that the scope of Durham's investigation wasn't Hillary (hence, no indictments of) or Trump (ditto), his remit was The FBI and CIA itself.
However, there do seem to be indictable offenses (Durham, in his intro, says not. I disagree) by the FBI personnel, and more IMHO is required than just "reform".
Bc, according to the FBI, they've ALREADY "reformed", but that didn't prevent them from subsequently burying Hunter Biden's laptop and the Biden family's grift, and getting 50 current and former intel officials to sign on to the disinfo that the laptop was Russian disinfo. (But yanno, that whole "Russian troll" accusation has been horseshit from the beginning. By now, people should recognize it for the psyop that it is.)
It also didn't prevent the FBI from embedding actors in Jan 6 and inciting lawlessness.
As frustrating as it is to read about the FBI's CLEARLY partisan (mis)application of its investigatory powers, it's more frustrating to think that nothing will be done about it.
The only hopeful thought is that if the DOJ can't reform itself, then Congressional Republicans with spine will take this report and use it to dismember the FBI, like the Church report led to significant (but not permanent) reform of the CIA.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
The inevitable blizzard of lies, excuses, and rationalizations from SECOND.
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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal." - Henry Kissinger
Yup.
Can't even bother to read most of his walls of garbage anymore.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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