FBI calls for investigation into ‘collusion between Donald Trump and Russia’ | US News
A US special counsel has denounced an FBI investigation into possible collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russia in the 2016 presidential election.
In a 306-page final report released Monday, Special Counsel John Durham accused the FBI of “ignoring or willfully ignoring material information that does not support the narrative of a collusive relationship between Trump and Russia.”
Durham concluded that the FBI should never have launched a full investigation into possible links between the Trump campaign and Russian election interference.
According to the report, the FBI used “raw, unanalyzed and unverified information” in the launch of the probe known as the Crossfire Hurricane. She lacked analytical rigor when examining evidence of Trump’s ties to Russia.
“An objective and honest assessment of these strands of information should have prompted the FBI not only to question the Crossfire Hurricane prediction, but also to consider whether the FBI was being manipulated for political or other reasons,” Durham wrote.
“Unfortunately, this is not the case.”
The report also accused the FBI of using a different standard in investigating allegations of election interference related to Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
The report contained no significant revelations about the investigation.
Trump has angered former FBI Director James Comey and Democrats over investigations into alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia.
“I, and more importantly, the American public, have become victims of this longstanding and treacherous charade started by the Democrats — started by Comey,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “There is a heavy price to pay for doing this to our country.”
Trump said it took a long time for the report to be released publicly “because John Durham is a very thorough investigator.”
“But the outcome is clear and an absolute injustice disaster,” Trump said, adding that “the national security implications of their actions are very serious.”
“It turned out to be a huge and very dangerous scam,” Trump said.
Durham did not call for “general changes” to the FBI’s policy on investigating politically sensitive matters.
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