Special Counsel John Durham’s report investigating the FBI’s original investigation into collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign was built on a "rabbit hole conspiracy," according to MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace.
MSNBC’s "Deadline: White House" discussed the 300-page report released just hours prior regarding the "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation into whether former President Trump colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Durham found the investigation was marred by a "lack of analytical rigor, apparent confirmation bias, and an over-willingness to rely on information from individuals connected to political opponents."
However, a panel including former FBI agent Frank Figliuzzi and former attorney for the Mueller investigation Andrew Weissman attacked Durham and the report, insisting that it was based on "conspiracy."
"Durham’s whole thing is predicated on it’s like a rabbit hole conspiracy that suggests that the Trump-Barr paranoia infected his ability to stand back and evaluate whether the probe yielded guilty convictions of people who would have had nothing to do with any of these questions he looked at," Wallace said. "It is a view from so far down the rabbit hole that what needs some oversight is what Mr. Durham did for four years that repelled his long-time prosecutorial partner, Nora Dennehy, and other high-level DOJ prosecutors."
Figliuzzi argued further that Durham "failed miserably" in his report and was likely influenced by an "agenda."
"John Durham, once highly respected hard-nosed prosecutors and someone I worked for eons ago as an intern when I was in law school, has twisted himself into a pretzel in an attempt to deliver what he could not deliver. If the goal was to wrack up many indictments and prove all of this Russia, Russia, Russia stuff as Trump says wrong, he’s failed miserably," Figliuzzi said.
He continued, "John Durham should be exhibit A in the so-called weaponization of government subcommittee because he was weaponized by Bill Barr and turned against the very institutions that he comes out of."
Weissman agreed, insisting that Durham’s report did not disprove that Russia influenced the 2016 election and any comparison between Republicans and Democrats is a "false equivalency."
"So I just think the big picture if you step back is, for those people who think oh, everybody does it, the Democrats do it, Republicans do it, everybody is up to no good and shenanigans, there really is just – that’s not true. There is a false equivalency because you have an enormous number of cases which were proved where you pointed out convictions, where there is a there, there," Weissman said.
He added, "Russia interfered in the 2016 election and continuing to interfere. There are people who have gone to jail who are rightly found guilty and what you have with John Durham is a big fat nothing, and it reminds me of sort of weaponization hearings that are going on where there also is, they’re just falling flat on their faces because there is no there there."
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Regarding the FBI and Department of Justice’s failure to properly investigate the matter, the report said, "Although recognizing that in hindsight much is clearer, much of this also seems to have been clear at the time. We therefore believe it is important to examine past conduct to identify shortcomings and improve how the government carries out its most sensitive functions."
