Durham Probe Expected to Conclude in Summer, May Be Delayed by Coronavirus Outbreak
U.S. Attorney John Durham, the head of a criminal probe into the origins of the Russiagate investigation, is expected to wrap up his investigation by the end of the summer.
Durham’s work could wrap up anywhere from July to September, and could be slowed by the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., Fox News reported Monday. Another source told Fox News last month that Durham has yet to interview former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) said last week that Durham’s investigation “is due to be completed sometime this summer.” Last month, Representative Doug Collins (R., Ga.) said that Durham will not be releasing a report, like former special counsel Robert Mueller, but will likely use indictments to signal his conclusion.
“When he’s ready to charge people, he’ll charge people,” Collins told Fox News. “And that’s when we’ll know.”
Attorney General William Barr said in December that Durham “is looking at all the conduct both before and after the election.”
“He’s not just looking at the FBI, he’s looking at other agencies, and departments, and also private actors, so it’s a much broader investigation,” Barr stated. The comments came after Durham released a rare public statement to say his team did “not agree with” DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s conclusions regarding the origins of the FBI’s 2016 Russia probe.
Part of Durham’s focus is a 2017 intelligence community assessment that detailed Russian interference in the 2016 election, and stated that Vladimir Putin “ordered an influence campaign” that “aspired to help” Trump and discredit Clinton.
Former National Security Agency director and retired Admiral Michael Rogers, who was the “lone exception” in giving moderate confidence to the IC’s report — compared to the CIA and FBI’s high confidence — reportedly “has cooperated voluntarily” with Durham’s probe.
