U.S. Attorney John Durham, the Connecticut federal prosecutor tasked with looking into the questionable origins of the Russian collusion hoax, is under attack from congressional Democrats.
The House Judiciary Committee has put Durham on a list of individuals with whom it wants to speak, claiming that they are investigating “recent actions that smack of political interference.”
Dear AG Barr
Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) made the request in a four-page letter that he addressed to Attorney General William Barr on Friday.
“The Judiciary Committee needs to examine a range of recent actions that smack of political interference, including the Department’s withdrawal of the Roger Stone sentencing recommendation; intervening in the handling of the Michael Flynn prosecution; overruling the decision to relocate Paul Manafort to Rikers Island; opening investigations into career officials involved in the Russia investigation; and a series of controversial interventions into sensitive antitrust matters,” Nadler wrote.
Nadler continued: “Our democracy is founded on the notion that no one is above the law, and strict adherence to the rule of law has separated us from all other nations. Attorneys General have supported this principle on a bipartisan basis throughout our history, but that principle is now under assault. There is also a long history of Attorneys General cooperating in oversight inquiries led by both Democrats as well as Republicans, and given the stakes for our nation, we expect Attorney General Barr’s full cooperation here.”
Why Durham?
Attorney Durham made the list of some fifteen individuals with whom Nadler and the Judiciary Committee want to speak. Durham earned this honor by being the man whom Barr has chosen to investigate the origins of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
As the Washington Examiner reports: “Durham was assigned to review possible misconduct by federal law enforcement and intelligence officials during the counterintelligence investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign by Barr.”
Specifics about the investigation have been hard to come by. But we do know something about the investigation itself, which, along the way, transformed into a criminal one, meaning that Durham does have the power to impanel a grand jury and to make indictments.
Other than that, all we have been hearing are the whisperings of some congressmen who are allegedly in the know, who have suggested that Durham has found some rather unsavory information.
Looking forward
Neither Barr nor Durham have responded to Nadler’s request or, for that matter, have issued a statement on the subject.
Nadler, citing the “urgent and serious nature of these requests,” asked that Barr respond to the letter by March 13th.
In the meantime, let’s not forget that Barr himself will be testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on March 31st about many of the items mentioned in Nadler’s letter. It looks like Nadler and crew have found something to do in the wake of the impeachment defeat.
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