{"id":1953477,"date":"2023-06-21T19:16:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T23:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-counsel-durham-defends-fbi-doj-amid-defunding-push\/"},"modified":"2023-06-21T19:17:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T23:17:00","slug":"special-counsel-durham-defends-fbi-doj-amid-defunding-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-counsel-durham-defends-fbi-doj-amid-defunding-push\/","title":{"rendered":"Durham backs FBI, DOJ amidst defunding efforts."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fspecial-counsel-durham-defends-fbi-doj-amid-defunding-push%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1953477&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0621\/31eb0f4a-cc48-493f-8fdf-605eb45d4e83\/audio.mp3?length=5950989&#038;duration=496\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Special Counsel John Durham defends the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) amid Republican efforts to defund or limit funding for these agencies due to alleged &#8220;weaponization.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Durham recently testified before Congress about his report on the investigation into Donald Trump and his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-kamala-harris-aide-symone-sanders-joins-msnbc-as-anchor\/\" title=\"Former Kamala Harris Aide Symone Sanders Joins MSNBC As Anchor\">presidential campaign prior<\/a> to the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>In his report, Durham concluded that the investigation was poorly founded and should not have proceeded as it did.<\/p>\n<p>However, some Republicans were dissatisfied with the report, as it offered few reform proposals that hadn&#8217;t already been implemented by the FBI under Director Christopher Wray.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5338337\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/16\/id5338337-wray-garland-1200x850.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tU.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (L) and FBI Director Christopher Wray hold a press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington on Oct. 24, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>During his testimony, Durham dismissed the Republican push to defund the agencies as misguided.<\/p>\n<p>When asked if he believed the Department of Justice should be defunded, Durham replied, &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe these discussions about defunding the police make any sense at all for the security of the nation and I don&#8217;t think defunding Cornerstone law enforcement entities makes a whole lot of sense. Maybe more oversight, but defunding our cities and streets and so forth\u2014no, that doesn&#8217;t make sense to me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But I&#8217;ve only been at this for 40 years,&#8221; he joked.<\/p>\n<p>Pressed further on the issue, Durham stated, &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe the Department of Justice or the FBI should be defunded. I think there maybe ought to be some changes and the like, but defunded, no.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Republican Concerns<\/h2>\n<p>Durham&#8217;s comments come as many House Republicans, frustrated with perceived abuses of power, have proposed limiting or cutting funding for the DOJ and FBI.<\/p>\n<p>They point to alleged abuses of power by these agencies, as revealed by whistleblower reports.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent whistleblower report, Republicans exposed allegations that the FBI had become &#8220;enveloped in politicization,&#8221; echoing earlier reports that FBI leadership was &#8220;rotted at its core.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Republican concerns with DOJ and FBI authorities intensified after Attorney General Merrick Garland&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-counsel-durham-defends-fbi-doj-amid-defunding-push\/\" title=\"Durham backs FBI, DOJ amidst defunding efforts.\">memo offering federal assistance<\/a> to prosecute parents who spoke out against controversial ideas being taught to their children at school board meetings. This raised concerns about First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n<p>Some parents who spoke out at these meetings found themselves placed on flight watchlists without warning or explanation.<\/p>\n<p>Other whistleblower allegations claim that the FBI targeted pro-life individuals and organizations and labeled traditional Catholic communities as &#8220;harbors for white supremacism.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, a public audit revealed that the FBI had abused the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-lawmakers-set-to-square-off-with-white-house-treasury-department-over-stifling-crypto-tax-plan\/\" title=\"House Lawmakers Set To Square Off With White House, Treasury Department Over \u2018Stifling\u2019 Crypto Tax Plan\">collecting personal information<\/a> on over 3.3 million American citizens.<\/p>\n<p>Despite reforms, subsequent investigations found that over 278,000 Americans were illegally targeted under FISA authority, including nearly 20,000 campaign donors.<\/p>\n<p>These allegations are the basis for an ongoing investigation into the Weaponization of the Federal Government.<\/p>\n<h2>Calls to Cut, Defund Agencies<\/h2>\n<p>In light of these allegations, some Republicans have joined calls to cut or defund these agencies as a means of forcing reforms.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been particularly vocal about using the power of the purse to hold the DOJ accountable.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Matt Gaetz has also expressed support for defunding and dismantling the DOJ if it does not align with congressional expectations.<\/p>\n<p>These calls reflect a growing sentiment among Republicans that significant changes are needed within these agencies.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5171230\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/04\/04\/id5171230-2023-04-04T152630Z_1_LYNXMPEJ330NE_RTROPTP_4_USA-TRUMP-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on the day of former President Donald Trump&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-lawyer-predicts-case-wont-make-it-to-a-jury-trial\/\" title=\"Trump Lawyer Predicts Case Won\u2019t Make It to a Jury Trial\">planned court appearance<\/a> on April 4, 2023. (Reuters\/Caitlin Ochs)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4664018\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/14\/6Matt-Gaetz-CPAC-DALLAS-1200x1621.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tRep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 6, 2022. (Bobby Sanchez for The Epoch Times)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>These calls for change reflect a growing concern among Republicans that the DOJ and FBI have overstepped their bounds and require significant reform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special Counsel John Durham defended the DOJ and FBI against Republican efforts to defund or restrict their funding due to alleged &#8220;weaponization.&#8221; Testifying before Congress on June 21, Durham discussed the findings of his investigation report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":1953478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[6790,7076,11773,5564,5591],"class_list":["post-1953477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times","tag-defunding","tag-doj","tag-durham","tag-efforts","tag-fbi"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1953477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1953478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1953477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1953477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1953477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}