When Attorney General Bill Barr chose U.S. Attorney John Durham to get to the bottom of the origins of what many have called the Trump–Russia collusion hoax, the long-expected liberal outcry was nowhere to be found. Indeed, Durham has the support of many on both the right and the left, even as he works under some of the most polarizing political figures in recent history. But why?
According to National Review‘s senior political correspondent Jim Geraghty, it’s because Durham is uniquely qualified for the job. “It seems like his whole life has prepared him for this moment,” Geraghty wrote of Durham in a lengthy profile published Monday.
A “rare-as-a-unicorn figure”
“Durham’s career has it all,” Geraghty wrote in National Review‘s morning article round-up on Monday, promoting his recently published profile on the prosecutor. “Prosecuting mobsters with colorful nicknames, Ku Klux Klan, Whitey Bulger, corrupt FBI agents, ruthless street gangs, threatening the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] with an FBI raid, and coming as close as anyone has to cracking the biggest art theft in American history.”
In short, Durham’s reputation certainly precedes him. Geraghty noted in his profile that the prosecutor is “tight-lipped” and rarely speaks to the press, helping him maintain his persona as a “rare-as-a-unicorn figure who can reassure lawmakers, talking heads, and court-watchers on both sides of the aisle.”
This is good news for the Justice Department’s probe, according to the pundit. Durham is known for being fair, and he won’t let politics get in the way of his investigation, Geraghty writes:
Durham will not speak to the press at all until he is done, and probably not even then. He and his team are extremely unlikely to leak. He is not afraid to reach conclusions that will disappoint or frustrate Attorney General Barr or President Trump. He will not be rushed; there is no guarantee that Durham will reach any prosecutorial decisions before the 2020 elections. And he will investigate so extensively and thoroughly that no reasonable observer will be able to argue that something important was missed.
“A by-the-book kind of guy”
It was recently reported by The New York Times that Durham’s investigation had turned into a criminal one, meaning Barr had given the prosecutor the OK to “subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to convene a grand jury, and to file criminal charges,” according to Geraghty.
And if Durham does decide “to bring charges against any official who launched the Trump probe,” Geraghty writes, “history suggests he is extremely likely to persuade a jury to convict the accused and sustain those convictions upon appeal.”
The pundit went on: “And if he does not bring charges, it is extremely unlikely that any other prosecutor could have succeeded; regardless of what the official did, the evidence would not be there to convict or sustain a conviction.”
Indeed, it seems like Bill Barr picked the right man for the job.
“[Durham is] a by-the-book kind of guy. He’s thorough and fair. And I’m confident he’s going to get to the bottom of things,” Barr told Fox News last week. “I understand he’s making great progress.”
Could Barr be hinting that indictments are coming? Only time will tell. But one thing is for certain: if there was any wrongdoing, Durham will be the one to find it.
And if he does, some big-name Dems might end up right where no one wants to be: in a courtroom opposite prosecutor John Durham.
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