By Jack Phillips
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, expects U.S. Attorney John Durham to release a report “real soon.”
Speaking to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, Jordan said that Durham is “doing his work,” without elaborating, and Republicans can “expect some kind of report” in the near future. He didn’t provide a timetable as to when.
Durham was tapped by Attorney General William Barr in 2019 to investigate alleged misconduct on behalf of intelligence officials, law enforcement, and other actors in relation to the FBI’s investigation into alleged links between Russia and President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump has long asserted that the FBI and Obama administration-era officials spied on his campaign and later attempted to spread disinformation tying him to the Kremlin.
Democrats, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), have been critical of Durham’s investigation, accusing Barr and the Trump administration of facilitating a politically-motivated investigation into political rivals.
“Like you, I am frustrated that it didn’t happen sooner,” Jordan said on Sunday. “But, look, you and I can’t prosecute anyone. We can’t indict anyone. All we can do is get the facts out to the American people. The Justice Department has to do that. I’m hopeful they are going to have something real soon for the American people.”
Last week, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said he had regrets after agreeing to a FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) application that sought to renew surveillance on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page in 2017.
McCabe made the stunning assertion during a Senate Judiciary Committing hearing last week. McCabe was asked by Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) about whether he would sign a warrant application in 2017 to surveil Page, to which he replied, “No sir.”
“I was shocked and disappointed at the errors and mistakes that the [DOJ inspector general] found. To me, any material misrepresentation or error in a FISA application is unacceptable, period,” McCabe said in a statement.
Inspector general Michael Horowitz, in a lengthy report, said there were serious questions raised by allegations posited by former UK spy Christopher Steele, who authored the widely discredited “Steele dossier.” Claims in the dossier “raised significant questions about the reliability of the Steele election reporting,” Horowitz said at the time.
“I don’t put a whole lot of stock in what Andy McCabe is saying now about the investigation he launched four years ago,” Jordan stipulated.
Durham, meanwhile, has netted one guilty plea so far: former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted he fraudulently changed the words of an email in relation to the surveillance of Page.
