Sen. Ted Cruz is declaring victory and claiming vindication for Donald Trump, Russia and others after the release of the 300-plus page Durham report, Special Prosecutor John Durham‘s final opinion on the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — and the possible collusion by members of the Trump campaign in that interference.
The investigation was famously codenamed “Crossfire Hurricane.”
Cruz is especially focused on The Steele Report, calling the following quote from the report’s conclusion a “bombshell“: “Crossfire Hurricane investigators did not and could not corroborate any of the substantive allegations contained in the Steele reporting.”
From the bombshell Durham Report: “The Crossfire Hurricane investigators did not and could not corroborate any of the substantive allegations contained in the Steele reporting.”
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 17, 2023
Get the facts about the Democrats’ fundamental assault on our democracy:https://t.co/9Ow1GsbITF
But Durham’s most newsworthy conclusion — that the FBI should have launched a preliminary investigation (PI) rather than a full investigation (FI) doesn’t hinge on the Steele Report at all, says Barb McQuade, former US Attorney and author of the forthcoming book, Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.
Indeed, the controversial Steele Report or Steele Dossier was not the “basis for opening the investigation.”
Cruz’s framing of the Steele Report’s prominence is just one of the many things that McQuade objects to in both the Durham report itself and its subsequent use as fodder for MAGA adherents claiming victory. McQuade tackles the Steele Report’s false premise status in the ninth of her 20 tweet response to the Durham report’s release:
“Durham criticizes the FBI for relying on the Steele Dossier for the Carter Page FISA. Steele Dossier was not the basis for opening the investigation, but it makes for a useful scapegoat to blur that fact.”
9 Durham criticizes the FBI for relying on the Steele Dossier for the Carter Page FISA. Steele Dossier was not the basis for opening the investigation, but it makes for a useful scapegoat to blur that fact.
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) May 16, 2023
The Steele Report’s not being the trigger for the investigation is an important point, but McQuade further addresses the Steele Report scapegoating by pointing out what Cruz doesn’t: Durham says that while its suspicions were not confirmed by the FBI, neither were they disproved.
10 We now know FBI was unable to corroborate the Steele Dossier, which contained explosive details about Russian kompromat on Trump. That’s 20/20 hindsight. And, importantly, Durham never says the information in it was false, just unconfirmed.
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) May 16, 2023
McQuade also points out that the investigation was primarily “an investigation into Russia” and its suspected attempt to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election. McQuade asserts that “Failing to investigate these ties would have been a breach of duty by FBI.”
18 But the Durham Report provides fuel for the false claim that the Russia probe was a hoax. Don’t fall for it. While Mueller found no conspiracy, he concluded that Russia worked to help Trump become president.
— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) May 16, 2023
Durham, who in four years investigating the investigation, “failed to secure significant criminal convictions related to alleged FBI misconduct in the Trump-Russia probe,” as Politico puts it, essentially says himself that there were no criminal transgressions by the FBI. He wrote in his report’s introduction that “not every injustice or transgression amounts to a criminal offense.”
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