Tag Archives: John Durham

Top Aides on Durham Team Resign

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by Daveda Gruber

US Attorney John Durham’s office has confirmed the resignation of a top aide to Duham.

On Friday it was confirmed that the federal prosecutor, Norah Dannehy, has resigned from the Department of Justice.

Dannehy was probing the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation and she had worked closely with Durham for years.

There was no reason given, at this time, as to why the resignation came about but The Hartford Courant in Connecticut reported that Dannehy informed colleagues in the New Haven US Attorney’s Office of her resignation on Thursday evening.

The paper mentioned that Dannehy resigned “at least partly out of concern that the investigative team is being pressed for political reasons to produce a report before its work is done.”

The investigation has reportedly been slowed down from the coronavirus pandemic and now this departure of a veteran team player can slow down the final stretch.

Attorney General William Barr appointed Durham over a year ago to investigate the origins of the FBI’s original Russia probe after former Special Counsel Robert Mueller completed his investigation into whether the campaign colluded with the Russians to influence the 2016 presidential election. That itself took years to complete and the end result left much to be desired.

Since Durham has been appointed,  he has questioned former law enforcement and intelligence officials, with former CIA Director John Brennan being among them, about decisions that had been made during the Russia probe.

Dannehy was present for interviews with top officials, including Brennan, because of her position.

This is combined with reports of other DOJ-related resignations on Friday.

It has been reported that John Choi, who served on the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, has resigned from the commission. He claimed its intent was providing cover for a predetermined agenda that ignores the lessons of the past.

Also on Friday, Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Morell left the DOJ.

Durham is focused on the time between July 2016, when the FBI’s original Russia probe began, through the appointment of Mueller in May 2017.

Now that the presidential is getting very close, some Republicans want to see what has been found out.

Even President Trump has asked for results.

At a White House press conference on Thursday Trump said that Durham was a “very, very respected man” and that his work would involve a “report or maybe it’s much more than that.”

One criminal charge against a former FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, who was accused of altering an email related to the surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page, has been dealt with.

That prosecution did not allege an extensive conspiracy within the FBI or with the conduct it involved.

That much was already laid out in a Justice Department inspector general report that came out last December.

Even though Barr has said that he has not ruled out the possibility of additional criminal charges, he did not affirm that there would be any.

Indictments were supposed to be out in March. Then that date was extended and finally we were told to expect them at the end of the summer.

Well, summer has come and gone. There is not much time left before the election. So, during all this time Clinesmith said he was sorry. Yes folks, that’s all we can be certain of at this time.

To me, it’s like watching a bombastic movie and then during the last half hour the power goes off.

I fear that I’m not going to get the end result that I had been hoping for, in fact, not even close.

Will Durham Probe Produce a Guilty Plea?

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by Daveda Gruber

U.S. Attorney John Durham has made progress in his investigation. Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will plead guilty to making a false statement.

Referred for potential prosecution by the Justice inspector general’s office, Clinesmith was accused, although not by name, of altering an email about former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page to say that he was “not a source” for another government agency.

Page has said that he was a source for the CIA which led to the DOJ relying on that contention as it submitted a third and final renewal application in 2017 to eavesdrop on Page.

The renewal application to spy or eavesdrop, whichever way you see it,  was made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Clinesmith’s attorney, Justin Shur, told The Associated Press that Clinesmith is being charged in federal court in Washington and is expected to plead guilty to one count of making a false statement.

Durham, who was appointed by Attorney General Bill Barr, to investigate the origins of the FBI’s original Russia probe. He was appointed shortly after former Special Counsel Robert Mueller completed his years long investigation into whether his campaign colluded with the Russians (Russia Hoax) to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Durham was focused on the timeline starting July 2016, when the FBI’s original Russia probe began and it continued through the appointment of Mueller in May 2017.

Barr said on FOX’s “Hannity” that “There are two different things going on. I said the American people need to know what actually happened, we need to get the story of what happened in 2016 and ’17 out. That will be done.”

Barr went on to say that “if people crossed the line, if people involved in that activity violated criminal law, they will be charged.”

He also said Durham as an “independent” and “highly experienced” man, and said that his investigation is “pursuing apace,” in spite of delays that he blamed partially on the coronavirus pandemic.

Most of us saw that the Mueller investigation came up with no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 election. That point was made as clear as possible considering where it came from.

Mueller’s report did, however, leave open whether Trump obstructed justice.

You’d think after years of investigating, they could have closed that up with substantial evidence to back it up.

Will there be a Durham Report?

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by Daveda Gruber:

The end of U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation will not be coming in March as sources were alleging. In fact, there won’t be a report at all.

Now it is being reported that the investigation into the origins of the Russia probe by the U.S. attorney for Connecticut will not be finished until the end of the summer.

The delay is alleged to be at least partly because of coronavirus pandemic that is affecting America and the rest of the world.

During a House Rules Committee meeting that was focused on reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act last week, Representative Jim Jordan, who is a Republican from Ohio, was reported to have conveyed the same timeline.

The Washington Examiner reported that in reference to Durham’s investigation that Jordan explained, “His investigation is due to be completed sometime this summer.”

In 2008, Durham was appointed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations. On November 8, 2010, Durham closed the investigation without recommending any criminal charges be filed.

Last year Attorney General William Barr appointed Durham to review the events leading up to the 2016 presidential election and through President Trump’s January 20, 2017 inauguration.

It has been reported that Durham has since expanded his investigation to cover a post-election timeline spanning the spring of 2017. That is when Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel.

Representative Doug Collins, the Republican from Georgia, served as the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. He left the role after announcing a Senate campaign. It was reported to have said that Durham’s probe will likely lead to criminal charges.

It was reported by FOX News that Collins said, “This is not going to be a Mueller report; there won’t be a report.”

Collins  went on to say “When he’s ready to charge people, he’ll charge people. And that’s when we’ll know.”

It has also been reported that Collins explained that Barr had expanded Durham’s reach into the intelligence community.

He added that he has “grand juries” and “everything else” at his disposal.

CIA officials and other officials in the intelligence community were investigated by Durham and former CIA Director John Brennan has made it clear that Durham plans to interview him and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Those interviews have not taken place according to alleged reports.

It is alleged that a handful of House Democrats are asking that Durham step aside according to Congressman Andy Biggs the Republican from Arizona who is on the House Judiciary Committee.

Nothing in life is guaranteed but I was looking forward to a report by Durham. Now it appears that no report is coming and that government officials will know what Durham finds when indictments begin and the investigation is officially declared over.

So, toilet paper isn’t the only paper I may or may not have in the summer. I won’t have a report to read and I was looking forward to that.

More and more conspiracy theories are creeping into my head and building  up because Durham’s investigation has been slowed down by the coronavirus.

Does this little bit of information get you thinking? It should if you are inquisitive like I am. It will be a long summer.

 

DOJ Will Not Prosecute Comey for Leaking Classified Information

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by Daveda Gruber:

The Conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, announced that it had obtained an FBI log about special agents arriving at former FBI Director James Comey’s home in June 2017 to retrieve his memos.

Comey handed over four of them and said that two of them, to the best of his recollection, were missing.

Still, it is now allegedly been decided that Comey will not face prosecution on this matter. The Department of Justice has declined to prosecute in this case.

During congressional testimony, Comey admitted that he had hand written notes of his meetings with President Trump in the days before he was fired. He took those notes and shared them with a friend who passed them to The New York Times.

That, folks, is called leaking information.

Two of the memos were classified by the FBI as “confidential,” but after the fact.

Comey became a critic of the president ever since he was fired from his position at the FBI.

Look what Comey tweeted:

Comey’s feelings towards Trump are not hidden. He holds hate for the president.

And Comey is not out of hot water just yet. He is a possible target of Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s separate investigation into alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse.
The former FBI director also signed three out of the four FISA applications targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Comey’s actions as an FBI Director will now probably be scrutinized in the “investigate the investigators,” which is a review of the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation that is being led by Attorney General William Barr and the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, John Durham.

It has been said that the bigger you are, the harder you fall. Comey is a tall man who stands 6 feet 8 inches tall. I predict that he falls hard.

Did a Spy Come in from the Cold?

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by Daveda Gruber:

The author of the famous anti-Trump dossier that led to the Russia probe, former British spy, Christopher Steele, has agreed to be questioned.

According to “The Times” (UK), investigators from the United States are scheduled to question Steele in London within weeks.

The 54 year old Steele, who compiled a dossier on Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, will be questioned by investigators, who’s names have not been revealed as yet.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. Now, attention is back on the dossier, which was at the helm of the investigation.

Steele has allegedly told the Department of Justice that he would only discuss his dealings with the FBI and wanted assurances that U.S. officials would secure the agreement of the British government.

The British government has not commented.

The origins of the Russia probe has several ongoing investigations at this time. Being investigated are how the Democrat-funded dossier, which was written by Steele, was used to secure surveillance warrants for former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page in 2016.

There are disputed trails of information on whether former CIA Director John Brennan or former FBI Director James Comey had somehow used and pushed the unverified dossier during the presidential transition.

Testimony by Steele has been sought by Congressional committees but have been, so far, unsuccessful.

Steele drafted the dossier while he was working for political opposition firm Fusion GPS, which was co-founded by Glenn Simpson.

Steele has previously declined to be interviewed. He had cited the potential impropriety of his involvement in an internal Justice Department investigation as a foreign national. Did something change? I believe so. Mueller’s report didn’t come out as originally planned.

Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham, the U.S. Attorney in Connecticut, to review the FBI’s Russia probe. Barr did testify that “spying” did occur against the Trump campaign during the 2016 campaign. Barr has made it clear that he wants to get to the bottom of the entire Russian probe.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is probing how the dossier compiled by Steele was used to secure the original surveillance warrant.

Barr has said that he has not received answers from the intelligence community that are “at all satisfactory” in the early stages of his review into the origins of the Russian investigation.

Barr told CBS News, “Like many other people who are familiar with intelligence activities, I had a lot of questions about what was going on. And I assumed I’d get answers when I went in, and I have not gotten answers that are at all satisfactory.”

Barr was questioned by Senator Chuck Grassley, R-IA., and this particular testimony is worth listening to.

Watch the testimony here:

Republicans in Congress and President Trump have maintained that the dossier was the root of what tuned into the Russian probe.

When the Mueller report was ready to be released, Senator Lindsey Graham R-SC., had this to say:

We know that the Steele Dossier was at the stem of the Mueller Russia investigation and was paid for by the DNC and Clinton campaign. It bewilders me as to why these facts have not been brought to light with the proof to back it up.

Could it be that a key factor of proof lies in Steele’s testimony? We don’t know what is in Steele’s head but we should want to find out.

Another suicide is not what we need now, if you get my drift.

This show has started but we still have to wait for the exciting parts. My popcorn is ready.

Will the Deep State be Exposed?

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by Daveda Gruber:

On Friday President Trump made a bold move as he vowed to uncover the origins of the Russia investigation. Trump’s confidence has led him to approve the declassification of documents that are related to the surveillance of his campaign during the 2016 presidential election.

Trump is now on his way to Japan but before leaving on Marine One, he spoke to reporters and defended overriding “longstanding rules” on classified material.

Trump told reporters, “We want to be very transparent, so as you know, I declassified everything. We are exposing everything.”

Trump wants to have everything revealed so that investigators looking into the origins of the probe have everything they need, “so they’ll be able to see how and why this whole hoax started.”

The president also stated that the probe was an “attempted takedown of the president of the United States.”

He added, “You’re gonna learn a lot. I hope it’s going to be nice, but perhaps it won’t be.”

Trump made it very clear that he does not have “payback” in mind.

Attorney General Bill Barr has embarked on the review of the Russia probe which is being handled by a top federal prosecutor, John Durham.

Durham has allegedly been working on his review of the Russia probe “for weeks.” He is expected to focus on the period before Nov. 7, 2016 which includes the use of FBI informants as well as alleged improper issuance of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants.

Trump has ordered members of the intelligence community to cooperate with Barr’s probe.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement, “The Attorney General has also been delegated full and complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation, in accordance with the long-established standards for handling classified information. Today’s action will help ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions.”

Sanders tweeted this:

Both the president and the attorney general have claimed that the Trump campaign in 2016 was a target of “spying.” The intelligence community and law enforcement officials maintain that they acted lawfully.

There was much disapproval for Democrats over Barr’s testimony when he used the word “spying.”

It is alleged that Barr is working “collaboratively” on Durham’s investigation with FBI Director Chris Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Durham is also working with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who is currently reviewing allegations of FISA abuses and the role of FBI informants during the early stages of the Russia investigation.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is not happy with the president for allowing the release of classified materials. He called a “corrupt escalation of the president’s intention” to politicize the intelligence community.

On Friday Schiff said in a statement, “The clear intent of this abuse of power is to override longstanding rules governing classified information to serve the President’s political interests, advance his ‘deep state’ narrative, and target his political rivals.”

In my humble opinion, Schiff has first hand information of how to “target his political rivals.” Isn’t that what Schiff has been doing? Schiff is using his own deeds to create his talking points.

Call it the “Deep State,” “Shadow Government” or the “Swamp;” it’s about time the real criminals are investigated.

 

Will John Durham be the Man to Drain the Swamp?

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by Daveda Gruber:

Now that Robert Mueller’s Russian Probe has ended, some are excited to hear the news that an investigation is underway to examine the investigation.

It was a matter of time, but I knew that it would be coming. Attorney General William (Bill) Barr had assigned John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to conduct the inquiry into the alleged misconduct and alleged improper government surveillance on the Trump campaign in 2016.

Also being investigated is if any Democrats were the ones who improperly colluded with foreign actors.

Durham is known as a “hard-charging, bulldog” prosecutor or so sources have called him. He’s been alleged to have been working on his review for weeks now.

The story being revealed is that Barr is working “collaboratively” on the investigation with a few others. They include FBI Director Chris Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

Durham is working directly with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

Horowitz is currently reviewing allegations of misconduct of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants that were issued.  He is also looking into the role of FBI informants during the early stages of the investigation.

Durham will focus on the period before Nov. 7, 2016 which includes the use and assignments of FBI informants and alleged improper issuance of  FISA warrants.

On Tuesday President Trump praised Barr for appointing Durham although he claims that he did not request that Barr do so.

On Tuesday Trump told reporters from the White House lawn, “I think it’s a great thing that he did it. I am so proud of our attorney general that he’s looking into it.”

Barr testified on April 9 and said, “I am reviewing the conduct of the investigation and trying to get my arms around the aspects of the counterintelligence investigation that was conducted in the summer of 2016.”

Barr had assembled a “team” to investigate the origins of the investigation and it has been alleged that Durham had been working on the investigation for weeks but it is not known if he was part of the original team assembled by Barr last month.

In fact, Barr’s appointment of Durham comes after he testified last month that he believed that “spying did occur” on the Trump campaign in 2016.

Barr said, “I think spying did occur. The question is whether it was adequately predicated…Spying on a political campaign is a big deal.”

Barr did later clarify in the hearing when he said,  “I am not saying that improper surveillance occurred; I’m saying that I am concerned about it and looking into it, that’s all.”

Back to Durham. In his career Durham has led numerous public corruption probes. This includes organized crime, government misconduct and financial  fraud matters.

Durham was appointed by AG Janet Reno in 1999.  He was appointed to investigate law enforcement corruption in Boston. Under AG Eric Holder, Durham was selected to investigate matters relating to the destruction of videotapes by the CIA and the treatment of detainees by the CIA.

On paper Durham looks like the right man for this new investigation. Will Durham be the man to lead to the arrest of those who have escaped justice, so far? Only time will tell but if I were to bet on this, I’d be betting against Democrats at this time.

Maybe the D.C. Swamp will finally start to get drained? I’ll be paying attention.