Special counsel John Durham has released a report on his office's investigation into wrongdoing in the Trump-Russia probe.
The FBI opened the initial Russia investigation, codenamed “Crossfire Hurricane,” in late July 2016. Special counsel Robert Mueller inherited that investigation in May 2017, and he wrapped up his work in March 2019. In all, that means the Justice Department spent about two years and eight months investigating the connections between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.
As Mueller wrapped up his work in the spring of 2019, then-Attorney General Bill Barr tapped Durham to “investigate the investigators” and review the origins of the FBI’s Russia probe
Barr upgraded Durham to “special counsel” status shortly before the 2020 election, making it politically harder for the incoming Biden-run Justice Department to shut down Durham’s team if they wanted to. Garland has let Durham continue, despite complaints from liberal commentators and Durham’s targets that he is twisting the law in furtherance of a Trump-friendly political agenda.
Prosecutions: In all, Durham has prosecuted just three people: Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst who was a source for the 2016 dossier of allegations about Trump, the acquitted Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann and a low-level FBI lawyer named Kevin Clinesmith.
There are reports that Durham’s team also looked into a wide range of other matters that former President Donald Trump has publicly complained about – without bringing any charges. This includes potential wrongdoing by the CIA and other parts of the US intelligence community, on topics related to Russia’s pro-Trump interference in the 2016 election.
Durham’s team has spent nearly $4.5 million since October 2020, according to financial data released by the Justice Department. The cost of Durham’s first year and half of work, when he was a US attorney and not a special counsel, has not been disclosed.
