Special Counsel John Durham has finally released his report looking at the origins of the Trump-Russian collusion hoax. If you believe there was, or is, a “deep state” of bureaucrats, Washington insiders and power brokers who operate outside the law and do pretty much whatever they want, in this case you were right. Chalk up one for the conspiracy theorists.
While Durham’s report has lots of criticism to go around, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is one of his major concerns. Unfortunately, there are two other recent developments that amplify concerns about the FBI.
It should be said at the outset that I have known only a few FBI agents. Those agents were dedicated professionals and great individuals. And I continue to believe the same could be said of the vast majority of rank-and-file agents. But clearly something has gone amiss, at least at the top echelons of the agency.
Let’s start with the Durham report, since it’s the most thorough and public.
Recall that the Mueller report, from Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, looked into whether there were Russian government efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including if there were any coordinated efforts with members of the Trump campaign. Mueller found no such evidence.