Durham reveals possible source of Trump-Russia collusion story.

John Durham’s Report Criticizes FBI’s Handling of Trump Investigation

The long-awaited report from special counsel John Durham was finally released on Monday, and it contained some scathing criticisms of the FBI’s handling of the investigation into former President Donald Trump. Durham also noted that former CIA Director John Brennan had briefed former President Barack Obama and other top national security officials about a plan to “stir up a scandal” targeting Trump and Russia.

Brennan’s Notes and Briefings

The 300-page report cited handwritten notes from Brennan, who had briefed Obama about the “alleged approval” by then-candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign in July 2016 of a proposal to “vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services.” Durham specifically mentioned “highly significant intelligence” that the FBI “received from a trusted foreign source pointing to a Clinton campaign plan to vilify Trump by tying him to Vladimir Putin so as to divert attention from her own concerns relating to her use of a private email server.”

Brennan had also briefed then-Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and FBI Director James Comey, according to Durham’s report. It suggested that top officials in the Obama administration were aware of the plan to denigrate Trump and paint him as a Russian asset, which the former president has long described as a witch hunt meant to harm him politically.

Reactions and Responses

Brennan has not issued a public comment after Durham’s report was issued Monday. Neither has Clinton, Lynch, Biden, or the FBI. The Epoch Times has contacted Brennan for comment.

In a statement issued on Monday, the FBI said that it has already implemented changes to agency problems that Durham’s report singled out.

“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. Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented. This 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,” the statement said.

Media Coverage and Mueller Report

For years during the Trump administration, corporate news outlets including MNSBC and CNN would cite unnamed sources that would criticize Trump and claim that he colluded with the Russian government. In 2019, then-special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Trump did not collude with the Russian government but did not rule out whether he obstructed justice in connection to his investigation. Mueller did not make any mention of Brennan’s notes or briefings to Obama administration officials, however.

“We wrote a lot about Russia, and I have no regrets,” the New York Times’ executive editor, Dean Baquet, said in an interview after the Mueller report was released in 2019. “It’s not our job to determine whether or not there was illegality,” he added. CNN’s former president, Jeff Zucker, also defended his network’s coverage by saying: “We are not investigators. We are journalists, and our role is to report the facts as we know them, which is exactly what we did.”

Key Takeaways

• John Durham’s report criticizes the FBI’s handling of the investigation into former President Donald Trump.
• Former CIA Director John Brennan briefed former President Barack Obama and other top national security officials about a plan to “stir up a scandal” targeting Trump and Russia.
• The report cited handwritten notes from Brennan, which suggested that top officials in the Obama administration were aware of the plan to denigrate Trump and paint him as a Russian asset.
• The FBI has already implemented changes to agency problems that Durham’s report singled out.
• Corporate news outlets including MNSBC and CNN would cite unnamed sources that would criticize Trump and claim that he colluded with the Russian government.

No charges have been filed as a result of Durham’s report.