Federal Lawyer Durham Objects To DOJ IG Report Clearing FBI's Russia Investigation Of Bias

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report Monday concluding that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s look into Russian interference in the 2016 election was fundamentally unbiased. However, U.S. Attorney John Durham was quick to say that he did not “agree” with these findings, begging the question: What did the federal lawyer find that Horowitz did not?

Durham was picked by U.S. Attorney General William Barr to conduct an investigation independent of the IG probe. Both focused on whether the FBI's actions to surveil Donald Trump and members of his 2016 campaign for their connections to Russia was tainted by bias or involved unlawful surveillance of Trump and his team. Last week, it was reported that insider sources aware of Durham’s investigation expected the federal lawyer to agree with Horowitz’ conclusions.

Durham’s objections suggest that this may not have been the case. In a public statement, Durham explained that his investigation “is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department. Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S.”

What lies behind Durham’s decision to disagree with Horowitz remains unclear until he concludes his investigation, though it is speculated that he may indicate that the FBI initiated its investigation under questionable pretenses. This has been the opinion of AG Barr who reiterated, after the release of Horowitz’ report, that the FBI investigated Russian communication with the Trump campaign based on the “thinnest of suspicions.” Barr believes evidence of the FBI’s “clear abuse” of their surveillance powers was exposed by Horowitz’ report.

Crucially, the report concluded that when political bias was discovered within the FBI’s investigative team, those individuals were promptly and appropriately dismissed. Barr, however, said that this demonstrates fundamental flaws in the way the FBI conducted its investigation.