Fox News reported in October that Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham’s inquiry into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe had morphed into a criminal investigation, sparking hope that major Obama administration players like former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and ex-CIA Director John Brennan might be held to account.
However, it looks like one, at least, may already be off the hook — Brennan has reportedly been told that he is not being targeted for prosecution.
NPR reported on Friday that an unnamed lawyer “close to the investigation” said that while Durham wants to interview the ex-CIA chief, “Brennan has been told he is not a target of prosecutors.”
Durham report expected soon
Attorney General Bill Barr announced in May of 2019 that he was tasking Durham with investigating possible wrongdoing by Obama-era officials. Over a year later, little has been released about Durham’s findings.
But according to a new report from Real Clear Investigations, there’s reason to believe that Durham’s report may be coming sooner rather than later. Written by Paul Sperry, the piece notes that during his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Barr refused to say whether he would release Durham’s report until after the presidential election.
As Sperry points out, that’s important because the Department of Justice rules require prosecutors not to take politically significant action within 60 days of voters going to the polls. This means that if Durham’s work is to be made public prior to election day, then it would have to be released on or before September 4.
Former assistant FBI director: Durham is “onto something, I’m convinced of it.”
That Barr and Durham would want the report tabled before the election is all but assured, according to former assistant FBI director Chris Swecker.
“I would find it hard to believe that he punts under any circumstances,” Swecker told Sperry. “There’s no question that if Biden is elected, everything Durham has done at that point will be canceled out.”
However, Swecker believes that putting indictments “into the public arena” makes “it very difficult for Biden’s appointees to undo his charges or bury the results of his probe. John knows this and I fully expect he will take action before the election.”
The former assistant FBI director added, “I know John Durham. I worked under him on the Whitey Bulger case, which resulted in indictments of [corrupt FBI] agents.”
“I don’t think he’s the least bit squeamish about bringing indictments if there is criminal exposure,” Swecker continued. “He’s onto something, I’m convinced of it, otherwise he would have folded up his tent by now.”
Don’t expect Biden to come up
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former Obama VP Joe Biden is unlikely to be named in the report, according to Sperry. “You don’t indict candidates or perhaps someone that’s sufficiently close to a candidate within a certain number of days before an election,” Sperry quoted Barr as saying of his department’s policy.
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