在一份期待已久的报告中，特别顾问约翰·达勒姆抨击联邦调查局在2016年调查时任总统候选人期间采取的行动唐纳德·特朗普的2016年竞选，据称与俄罗斯有联系。
达勒姆的最终报告调查了俄罗斯调查结束了为期四年的调查，尽管特朗普及其盟友提出了期望，但调查未能产生任何重大定罪。
达勒姆在这份306页的报告中总结道，司法部和联邦调查局“未能坚持其严格忠于法律的重要使命”。
达勒姆是2020年末任务时任司法部长比尔·巴尔(Bill Barr)调查了联邦调查局(FBI)对特朗普竞选活动的“交叉火力飓风”(Crossfire Hurricane)调查的起源，该调查于2016年7月启动。
联邦调查局一些最有争议的行动很大程度上是基于前英国间谍提供的后来被揭穿的指控克里斯托弗·斯蒂尔。
“我们的调查...达勒姆在他的报告中写道:“调查显示，联邦调查局的高级人员对他们收到的信息，尤其是从有政治关联的个人和实体那里收到的信息，严重缺乏分析的严谨性。”。“特别是，对特朗普的政治对手(直接或间接)提供或资助的调查线索的依赖程度很高。该部门在展开全面调查之前，没有充分审查或质疑这些材料以及提供这些材料的人的动机。”
达勒姆在最后一份报告中声称，对特朗普早期调查的处理方式不同于联邦调查局处理先前事项的方式，包括据称针对希拉里·克林顿2016年总统竞选的“外国选举干涉计划”的指控，达勒姆的团队也审查了这些指控。
特别顾问约翰·达勒姆(John Durham)是在特朗普-俄罗斯调查早期被任命调查政府潜在不法行为的检察官，他将于2022年5月16日离开华盛顿联邦法院。
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP，文件
“简而言之，办公室的评估是，联邦调查局忽视或故意忽略了不支持特朗普和俄罗斯之间勾结关系的材料信息，”报告称。“对这些信息的客观和诚实的评估应该使联邦调查局不仅质疑对交叉火力飓风的预测，而且反思联邦调查局是否被政治或其他目的所操纵。不幸的是，事实并非如此。”
虽然达勒姆似乎没有直截了当地说联邦调查局的俄罗斯调查不应该启动，但他强烈暗示事实就是如此——同时使用尖锐的语言告诫前联邦调查局领导人和特工，并将他的调查结果描述为“发人深省”。
在回应该报告的一份声明中，联邦调查局官员表示，“特别顾问达勒姆在2016年和2017年审查的行为是现任联邦调查局领导层已经实施数十项纠正措施的原因，这些措施已经实施了一段时间。如果这些改革在2016年到位，报告中指出的失误本来是可以避免的。这份报告强调了确保联邦调查局继续以严谨、客观和专业的态度开展工作的重要性，这是美国人民应得的，也是他们理应期待的。”
然而，在他的报告中，达勒姆似乎拒绝了联邦调查局应该增加新的规则或培训来补救任何潜在的未来不法行为的想法，他将其描述为“徒劳的行动”。
消息人士告诉ABC新闻，该报告于周一下午递交给国会。众议院司法委员会主席、众议员吉姆·乔丹在一条推特上说，他的委员会已经要求司法部下周让达勒姆作证。
司法部监察长在2019年底发布的一份主要报告发现，联邦调查局在不受政治偏见的影响当它开始调查时——尽管它概述了它所谓的“严重的性能故障“在特工审查消息来源并寻求对特朗普前竞选顾问的监视令时，卡特·佩吉。
在监察长迈克尔·霍罗威兹的报告发布时，巴尔和达勒姆都以达勒姆自己的调查正在进行为由，发表了声明，与俄罗斯调查恰当展开的结论保持距离。
自那以后的几年里，杜伦在调查过程中只给一个人定罪:一名联邦调查局的中级律师认罪篡改了一封FISA授权监视佩奇的电子邮件。
去年，达勒姆提起的另外两起刑事案件都以无罪开释告终。与克林顿2016年总统竞选有关联的网络安全律师迈克尔·苏斯曼(Michael Sussmann)是被判无罪去年5月，达勒姆指控他向联邦调查局作出虚假陈述，当时苏斯曼告诉该局的一名前高级律师，当他详细指控与特朗普有关的计算机服务器和莫斯科一家银行之间的联系时，他并不代表任何客户。
几个月后，在10月，一个陪审团宣告情报分析员伊戈尔·丹琴科无罪，他被指控向联邦调查人员谎报为臭名昭著的斯蒂尔档案这包括许多关于特朗普与俄罗斯关系的丑闻和未经证实的指控。
一些法律专家对达勒姆提起的案件表示担忧，认为这些案件会阻止未来潜在的联邦调查局消息来源提供信息，因为担心他们可能成为起诉的目标。
达勒姆于2020年10月被巴尔正式任命为特别顾问，就在特朗普被总统乔·拜登击败前几周，这有效地确保了达勒姆的工作即使在拜登上任后也能继续。司法部长梅里克·加兰(Merrick Garland)在很大程度上拒绝就围绕达勒姆调查的任何实质性问题发表评论，只是向国会保证，达勒姆已获得完成工作的全部资源。
多年来，特朗普和其他保守派一直指出达勒姆正在进行的调查，并猜测他会确保起诉针对前联邦调查局高级官员或与前总统巴拉克·奥巴马或希拉里·克林顿关系密切的个人，或以其他方式挖掘支持他们指控联邦调查局“深层国家”不当针对特朗普的确凿信息。
特朗普在2020年大选前几个月愤怒地公开向巴尔施压，要求达勒姆加快步伐，发布初步调查结果或宣布高级别逮捕。
在调查过程中，达勒姆在提交的文件和其他法庭出庭中，不时提出指控和补充信息，表明他也认为对特朗普的调查有政治污点——尽管他最终从未指控源于这些指控的任何犯罪阴谋。
达勒姆四年调查的结论与前特别顾问罗伯特·穆勒对特朗普竞选团队与俄罗斯之间关系的调查形成了鲜明对比对34名个人的起诉和三家俄罗斯企业，罪名包括共谋、黑客、向联邦调查局撒谎和金融犯罪。起诉导致7人认罪，5人被判入狱。
虽然穆勒的最终报告确定没有足够的证据指控特朗普竞选团队和俄罗斯之间的犯罪阴谋，但他详细说明了几十个联系人的实例在接近特朗普及其竞选团队的人和俄罗斯国民之间，发现俄罗斯政府认为它会从特朗普的总统任期中受益，并且它“努力确保这一结果”，其行动经常受到特朗普竞选团队的欢迎。
After 4-year probe, Durham report slams FBI for actions in 2016 Russia investigation
In a long-awaited report, special counsel John Durham slams the FBI for actions agents took during the 2016 probe scrutinizing then-presidential candidateDonald Trump's2016 campaign and it alleged ties to Russia.
Durham's final report examining the origins of theRussia investigationbrings to a close a four-year probe that failed to produce any major convictions despite the expectations pushed by Trump and his allies.
The Justice Department and FBI "failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law," Durham concluded in the 306-page report.
Durham wastasked in late 2020by then-Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate the origins of the FBI's "Crossfire Hurricane" probe of the Trump campaign that was launched in July 2016.
Some of the FBI's most controversial actions were largely based on since-debunked allegations provided by former British spyChristopher Steele.
"Our investigation ... revealed that senior FBI personnel displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor toward the information that they received, especially information received from politically affiliated persons and entities," Durham wrote in his report. "In particular, there was significant reliance on investigative leads provided or funded (directly or indirectly) by Trump's political opponents. The Department did not adequately examine or question these materials and the motivations of those providing them before opening a full-scale investigation."
In his final report, Durham alleges that the investigation into Trump in its early days was handled differently than how the FBI approached prior matters, including allegations of "foreign election interference plans" purportedly aimed at Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign leading up to the 2016 campaign, which Durham's team also examined.
"In short, it is the Office's assessment that the FBI discounted or willfully ignored material information that did not support the narrative of a collusive relationship between Trump and Russia," the report says. "An objective and honest assessment of these strands of information should have caused the FBI to question not only the predication for Crossfire Hurricane, but also to reflect on whether the FBI was being manipulated for political or other purposes. Unfortunately, it did not."
While Durham does not appear to say outright that the FBI's Russia investigation should not have been launched, he strongly suggests that is the case -- while using sharp language to admonish former FBI leadership and agents and describing his findings as "sobering."
In a statement issued in response to the report, FBI officials said, "The conduct in 2016 and 2017 that Special Counsel Durham examined was the reason that current FBI leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time. Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented. This report reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI continues to do its work with the rigor, objectivity, and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect."
In his report, however, Durham seems to reject the idea that the FBI should add new rules or training to remediate any potential future wrongdoing, which he describes as a "fruitless exercise."
The report was transmitted to Congress Monday afternoon, sources told ABC News. The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, said in a tweet that his committee has asked the Department of Justice to have Durham testify next week.
A major report by the Justice Department's inspector general released in late 2019 found that the FBI wasnot impacted by political biaswhen it opened the investigation -- though it outlined what it called "serious performance failures" on the part of agents as they vetted information from sources and sought surveillance warrants against a former Trump campaign adviser,Carter Page.
At the time of the release of Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report, both Barr and Durham -- citing the ongoing nature of Durham's own investigation -- issued statements distancing themselves from the conclusion that the Russia probe was opened properly.
In the years since, Durham only secured one conviction in the course of the probe: a mid-level FBI lawyer whopleaded guiltyto altering an e-mail used in one of the FISA applications used to authorize surveillance against Page.
Last year, the only two other criminal cases brought by Durham ended in acquittals at trial. Michael Sussmann, a cybersecurity lawyer tied to Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, wasfound not guiltyby a jury last May after Durham accused him of making a false statement to the FBI when Sussmann told a former top lawyer for the bureau that he was not acting on behalf of any client when he detailed allegations of ties between a computer server linked to Trump and a Moscow bank.
Several months later, in October, ajury acquitted intelligence analyst Igor Danchenko on charges of lying to federal investigators about information he collected for the infamousSteele Dossierthat included many scandalous and unproven allegations about Trump's ties to Russia.
Some legal experts expressed concerns about the cases brought by Durham, arguing that they would discourage future potential FBI sources from bringing information forward for fear they could be targeted for prosecution.
Durham was formally appointed special counsel by Barr in October of 2020, just weeks before Trump was defeated by President Joe Biden, effectively ensuring that Durham's work could continue even after Biden took office. Attorney General Merrick Garland has for the most part declined to comment on any substantive issues surrounding Durham's investigation, other than offering assurances to Congress that Durham has been given the full resources to complete his work.
For years, Trump and other conservatives have pointed to Durham's ongoing investigation with speculation that he wouldsecure indictmentsagainst high-level former FBI officials or individuals close to former President Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, or otherwise unearth damning information supporting their accusation that the FBI "deep state" improperly targeted Trump.
Trump fumed in the months leading up the 2020 election publicly pressured Barr to demand Durham move faster to release preliminary findings or announce high-level arrests.
In filings and other court appearances over the course of his probe, Durham at times put forward allegations and supplementary information that suggested he, too, believed the investigation into Trump was politically tainted -- though he never ultimately charged any criminal conspiracy stemming from those assertions.
The conclusion of Durham's four-year investigation stands in contrast to former special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into the ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, which resulted inindictments against 34 individualsand three Russian businesses on charges ranging from conspiracy to hacking to lying to the FBI and financial crimes. The indictments led to seven guilty pleas and five people sentenced to prison.
While Mueller's final report determined there was not sufficient evidence to charge a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, he detailed dozens ofinstances of contactsbetween people close to Trump and his campaign and Russian nationals, and found the Russian government believed it would have benefitted from Trump's presidency and that it "worked to secure that outcome," with actions often welcomed by Trump's campaign.
