GOP Rep Who Trump Tried to Oust Blasts FBI After Major Report

The FBI is facing criticism over its Russia probe even from those who are not the biggest supporters of former President Donald Trump . In a tweet on Tuesday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) wrote, “Trump primaried me last…

Bradley CortrightMay 16, 20233 min read

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handled its investigation into whether members of Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russian operatives.

Durham argued the FBI moved quickly in 2016 to investigate a tip about contacts between a Trump campaign aide and a Russian official. However, he said the bureau did not have additional information to corroborate the tip, and the investigation was launched without a proper basis.

The report states the FBI’s move to launch the Trump investigation “based on raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence also reflected a noticeable departure from how it approached” allegations involving Hillary Clinton.

It alleges the FBI was more skeptical of allegations foreign governments considered donating to Clinton’s campaign to gain influence.

Durham also found FBI officials did not conduct a thorough enough review of information it took in from groups or people with a political affiliation. And his report accused the FBI of relying on leads from Trump’s political opponents.

In 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller released a report that found “numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign.” However, he did not find evidence to back up allegations of a conspiracy.

In December 2019, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report sharing several “significant concerns” about the FBI’s Russia probe.

His report listed several “factual misstatements and omissions” made to help get a warrant for Trump campaign aide Carter Paige.

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) also criticized the FBI during an appearance on CNN. He argued many people “had some real concerns with, you know, the sympathy that the former president, frankly, still has for Vladimir Putin.”

“But that shouldn’t govern what the FBI does. The FBI should not allow their either bias on that or whatever to come to fruition. And hopefully, this report by the independent counsel will change things at the FBI. Hopefully, some stuff has already been implemented,” he added.

After Durham’s report was released, Trump told Fox News, “There must be a heavy price to pay for putting our country through this.”

“It turned out to be a giant and very dangerous hoax,” he insisted.