Special Counsel John Durham released his long-awaited report on the Crossfire Hurricane investigation Monday. While the 306-page report includes some new details of the Russia-collusion hoax, the Clinton campaign’s role in the plot, and the FBI and intelligence agencies’ misconduct, much of the content merely rehashes what conservative media have reported for the last five years. Still, our country needed a public record of the events that represent one of the biggest political scandals in American history, and on that front Durham delivered.
FBI’s Unjustified Investigation
Of the many details Durham confirmed in his report, officially titled “Report on Matters Related to Intelligence Activities and Investigations Arising Out of the 2016 Presidential Campaigns,” the most significant was that the FBI launched the Crossfire Hurricane investigation without justification. Both Durham and former Attorney General William Barr had previously conveyed that conclusion when they publicly challenged the inspector general’s position that the investigation into the Trump campaign had been properly predicated. But the 300-plus-page report elaborated on their reasoning.
As Durham explained in his executive summary, at the direction of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok opened Crossfire Hurricane as a “full investigation” almost immediately after receiving information on July 28, 2016, from Australia concerning a conversation between a diplomat and campaign volunteer adviser George Papadopoulos. The special counsel excoriated the FBI for opening the full investigation without even speaking with the Australian diplomat or conducting any review or analysis of the supposed intel. The FBI did not even collect or
