Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Durham report: FBI criticised by special counsel for Trump-Russia inquiry

Durham report: FBI criticised by special counsel for Trump-Russia inquiry

A long-awaited report has strongly criticised the FBI's handling of its investigation into alleged ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

In a 306-page report, special counsel John Durham said the agency's inquiry lacked "analytical rigor".

He concluded the FBI had not possessed evidence of collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia before launching an inquiry.

The FBI said it had addressed the issues highlighted in the report.

In the report, Mr Durham - who was appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr in 2019 - accused the FBI of acting on "raw, unanalysed and uncorroborated intelligence".

Among the investigative mistakes it made were repeated instances of "confirmation bias", in which it ignored information that undercut the initial premise of the investigation.

The report noted significant differences in the way the FBI had handled the Trump investigation when compared with other potentially sensitive inquiries, such as those involving his 2016 electoral rival Hillary Clinton.

Mr Durham noted that Mrs Clinton and others had received "defensive briefings" from the FBI aimed at "those who may be the targets of nefarious activities by foreign powers". Mr Trump had not.

"The Department [of Justice] and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law," the report concluded.

In a statement, the FBI said it had "already implemented dozens of corrective actions".

"Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented," the statement added.

Special Counsel John Durham was appointed by then Attorney General William Barr in 2019


The FBI investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, which was carried out by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, led to dozens of criminal charges against Trump campaign staff and associates for crimes including computer hacking and financial crimes.

It did not, however, find that the Trump campaign and Russia had conspired together to influence the election.

Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Mr Trump said the Durham report showed that the "American public was scammed". He cited the report's conclusion that there had not been enough evidence to warrant a full investigation by the FBI. Mr Trump has long claimed that members of the "Deep State" are targeting him unfairly.

Last year, Mr Trump said he believed the Durham report would provide evidence of "really bad, evil, unlawful and unconstitutional" activities and "reveal corruption at a level never before seen in our country".

The Durham report falls short of the blockbuster revelations and prosecutions that some Trump allies hoped for from the inquiry.

The four-year investigation has resulted in three prosecutions. They include an FBI attorney who pleaded guilty to altering evidence while applying for permission to eavesdrop on a former Trump campaign official.

Two other people were acquitted on charges of lying to the FBI.

The former president cited some court filings by the Durham team as part of a lawsuit he filed against Mrs Clinton and several other Democrats and government officials, alleging that they had plotted to undermine his 2016 presidential bid by spreading rumours about his campaign's ties to Russia.

A judge dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous in January and ordered Mr Trump to pay nearly a million dollars in penalties.

Mr Durham and his investigation are not likely to disappear from the national headlines in the immediate future.

Shortly after news that the report would be publicly released, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan announced that he would be calling the US former attorney to testify before Congress about his work.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
×