Special counsel’s investigation on Russia probe has been ‘radio silent,’ sources reported
Special Counsel John Durham’s probe into the origins of the Russia investigation is currently ongoing, but critics, which includes former President Trump, have all expressed frustration with his timeline and are questioning whether he’ll bring forward other charges.
This past weekend, Trump made a statement that seemed to mock the special counsel, and questioned when the ongoing two-year investigation will have any new information.
“Where’s Durham? Is he a living, breathing human being?” Trump asked. “Will there ever be a Durham report?”
One source knowledgeable with Durham’s ongoing investigation told Fox News on Monday that Durham’s probe has been quiet, with another claiming it was radio silent.
“It’s dead quiet,” yet even another source stated, but added that they are “sure it is ongoing.”
“He is not the kind of guy to be idle,” the source had told Fox News. “He is a very diligent, hardworking, serious guy.”
“He wouldn’t stay in that job a minute longer than he has to,” the source added.
Durham’s investigation has only one criminal charge so far, against former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith. He was accused of altering an email involving the surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
That prosecution did not bring forward a larger conspiracy within the FBI, and the conduct it involved had broadly been laid out in a Justice Department inspector general report from last December.
In August, Clinesmith pleaded guilty to making an untrue statement to Durham’s team.
The offense was supposed to be a maximum of five years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.
Clinesmith was sentenced to only twelve months probation and four-hundred hours of community service, and no fine.
The Justice Department relied on Clinesmith’s assertion as it submitted a third and final renewal application in 2017 to monitor Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Durham’s investigation began in May 2019, shortly after special counsel Robert Mueller completed his yearslong investigation into whether the Trump campaign conspired with the Russians to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Mueller’s investigation yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials in the months ahead the 2016 election.
Trump and his advocates have accused FBI and CIA officials of improper conduct during Mueller’s investigation. Fox News first reported last month that Durham has been mostly focused on the activities of the FBI, but that the prosecution of high-level FBI officials, like former Director James Comey, is not likely.
Sources told Fox News that Durham finished the CIA portion of his investigation last year. Last month, sources told Fox News that Durham had been following “new and credible leads” through the end of the Trump administration, though it is not clear, at this point, what those lines of inquiry include. A spokesperson for the special counsel told Fox News at the time that they had “no comment from Mr. Durham.”
In December, Durham added new prosecutors to his team. After former Attorney General William Barr appointed him in October as special counsel to ensure he could follow through with his investigation during the Biden administration.
In the scope order, obtained by Fox News, Barr stated that Durham “is authorized to investigate whether any federal official, employee, or any other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, individuals associated with those campaigns, and individuals associated with the administration of President Donald J. Trump, including but not limited to Crossfire Hurricane and the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III.”
Under U.S. code, the special counsel would produce a “confidential report” and is ordered to “submit to the Attorney General a final report, and such interim reports as he deems appropriate in a form that will permit public dissemination.”
Durham resigned from his post as U.S. attorney for Connecticut last month, after Biden administration officials asked Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to leave their posts. Durham, though, is staying on as special counsel.
And Biden Justice Department officials, like Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, have both signaled their support for Durham to continue his probe.
“Mr. Durham has been allowed to stay on, and I have no reason to think that’s wrong,” Monaco said. “As deputy attorney general, it will be my job to make sure he has the resources and I will be committed to doing that.”