Last Friday, when we learned about the latest filing from Special Counsel John Durham in his investigation of Russiagate, it was a welcome development considering how little we’ve learned from the investigation.
Durham has been investigating the Russiagate scandal since May of 2019, when he was U.S. Attorney in Connecticut, and was later appointed by then-Attorney General Bill Barr to serve as the Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice in Dec. 2020 to ensure his investigation couldn’t be thwarted by the incoming Biden administration.
But in the nearly three years that Durham has been investigating the Obama Justice Department’s spying on the Trump campaign, very few details have leaked out, and key developments have also been few and far between.
Sources told Fox News that this is by design and that Durham has run his investigation “very professionally,” without constant leaks like we were used to during the Mueller investigation.
Durham’s professionalism has nevertheless resulted in skepticism that the investigation was progressing—especially from Donald Trump.
“Where’s Durham?” Trump asked last March. “Is he a living, breathing human being? Will there ever be a Durham report?”
Trump was understandably irate. He was the victim of a coordinated effort by the Clinton campaign and the Obama administration to undermine his presidential campaign and presidency. No one in the world wants to see justice brought down more than he does.
So the question that needs to be asked is: Why did we suddenly get a bombshell last Friday? Why is it that we’re now being told that more is coming and that the investigation has “accelerated”?
“I can’t help but believe Mr. Durham disclosed the bombshell — in a filing otherwise dedicated to attorney conflict of interest — because he wants to keep President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland at bay,” Washington Times columnist Rowan Scarborough wrote. “Tough to fire him now.”
Is Scarborough right? During his confirmation hearings, Merrick Garland was asked about Durham’s ongoing investigation and would not promise to protect it by ensuring it would have the necessary resources to be completed. Garland also refused to commit to releasing the report to the public. This was a stunning contrast to Bill Barr’s promise to protect then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian collusion during his confirmation hearings.
Durham was appointed as special counsel to protect the investigation, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be fired. The attorney general can fire a special counsel, but it must be for specific reasons, such as misconduct, dereliction of duty, conflict of interest, or other violations of Justice Department policies.
It is significantly more difficult to fire a special counsel. Still, it is by no means out of the realm of possibility that the Biden administration could drum up bogus allegations against Durham to thwart the investigation. For example, in 2009, Barack Obama fired Inspector General Gerald Walpin, who was investigating then-Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama ally, for misusing federal grant money from AmeriCorps.
Walpin found out that some of those funds were used to pay hush money to underage girls Johnson had sexually assaulted. Walpin wanted Johnson to be criminally prosecuted. Obama did not, and the Obama White House drummed up bogus allegations against Walpin, insisting that he appeared “confused, disoriented and unable to answer questions” and was thus unable to do his job.
Would the Biden administration similarly try to thwart Durham’s investigation? Considering Merrick Garland’s refusal to protect the investigation, it seems possible—if not likely.
Perhaps Durham could see that the Biden administration was working to undermine his efforts and potentially oust him, so he disclosed the bombshell to make it that much more difficult for the Biden administration to do to him what the Obama administration did to Gerald Walpin. By releasing this bombshell, the Biden administration can’t fire Durham without giving the impression they’re attempting a cover-up.
