Dubbed the “Crossfire Hurricane,” the investigation cast a shadow over the first part of the Republican president’s term with no solid evidence of collusion coming to light, and was repeatedly denounced by Trump as a “witch hunt” staged by his opponents.
Shortly before the end of his term, the Trump administration entrusted Durham with the mission of investigating the origins of the case. After three years of investigations, he delivered a report of more than 300 pages with his conclusions.
“The speed and manner in which the FBI” decided to investigate Trump “contrasts with its previous approach to the case of possible foreign interference in the campaign” of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Durham said.
According to him, “the FBI and the Department of Justice must recognize the lack of analytical rigor, biases when it comes to confirming, and overconfidence towards sources linked to political opponents,” which would have resulted in investigators not being able to consider “hypotheses alternatives” or act with “adequate objectivity”.
In any event, the special prosecutor made no specific prosecution or reform recommendations.
“The solution is not to create new rules, but to endorse loyalty to the previous ones,” he argued.
Trump, who is seeking a second presidential term in 2024, praised the report. “WOW! After extensive investigation, Special Counsel John Durham concluded that the FBI should never have started the Trump-Russia investigation,” he wrote on his Truth Social network.
“In other words, the American public was ripped off, just as they are being ripped off right now by those who don’t want to see GREATNESS for AMERICA,” he added, apparently referring to the multiple criminal investigations against him.