Former Special Counsel John Durham just put to rest any doubts about the Department of Justice’s weaponization by left-wing ideologues against their political opponents.
In his first public remarks since the publication of the Durham report, the special counsel tasked with investigating the origins of the Russia-collusion hoax testified before lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. After the conclusion of his three-and-a-half-year probe, Durham spoke about the failure of the FBI to properly vet sources behind allegations of collusion between former President Donald Trump and the Russian government presented in the Steele dossier. The debunked dossier, authored by former British intelligence official Christopher Steele and financed by the DNC, became the foundational document that launched the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump.
Testifying with the calm and collected demeanor of a credible prosecutor, Durham made clear “there is not a single substantive piece of information in the [Steele] dossier that has ever been corroborated by the FBI or, to my knowledge, anyone else.”
Durham said FBI agents even apologized to him “for the manner in which that [Crossfire Hurricane] investigation was undertaken.”
Durham also told lawmakers at the hearing that the FBI ignored evidence indicating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned to link Trump to Russia. The bureau, Durham said, failed to “apply the same standards to allegations it received about the Clinton and Trump campaigns,” and refused to “sufficiently scrutinize information it received.”
California Rep. Ted Lieu’s live reaction to the special counsel’s testimony sums up how Democrats have come to embrace the weaponization of federal law enforcement against political opponents.
“I don’t actually know what we’re doing here,” Lieu said, before concluding “Thank goodness the FBI did” conduct the Crossfire Hurricane investigation — despite the cascade of evidence outlined in the Durham report revealing the Russia hoax to be nothing more than a partisan witch hunt.
[READ: Let’s Compare Media’s Lies About The Durham Report With What The Report Actually Said]
In the same hearing, Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen suggested Durham’s character was compromised unless the long-time attorney would endorse the Democrats’ zealous takeover of the criminal justice system.
“You have a good reputation. You had a good reputation,” Cohen said, “but the longer you hold on to Mr. Barr,” he added, “your reputation will be damaged. … You will end up on the bottom of a pyre.”
Durham dismissed the personal attack.
“My concern about my reputation is with the people who I respect, and my family, and my Lord, and I’m perfectly comfortable with my reputation with them, sir,” said Durham, whose response was met with applause in the room.
When questioned by California Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democrats’ lead Russia hoaxer who spoke more than any other member at Wednesday’s hearing, Durham pointed out the representative’s own history of soliciting dirt from foreign sources on political opponents.
Schiff pressed Durham on a 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and a Russian lawyer, wherein Trump Jr. was expected to receive incriminating information on Clinton.
“People get phone calls all the time from individuals who claim to have information like that,” Durham said.
Schiff was aghast.
“Really? The son of a presidential candidate gets calls all the time from a foreign government offering dirt on their opponent?” Schiff said.
“I don’t think this [situation] is unique in your experience,” Durham noted.
In 2017, Schiff became the target of a prank by Russian radio hosts who posed as Ukranian politicians claiming to have nude photos of Trump.
Durham made clear on Wednesday that the special counsel’s conclusions unearthed systemic issues in the bureaucracy that are “not susceptible to overnight fixes” and require substantive “accountability.”
[RELATED COVERAGE: Durham’s Much-Needed Record Of Deep-State And Dem Corruption Proves Conservatives Were Spot-On]