U.S. Attorney John Durham may be on the verge of releasing an interim report in his criminal inquiry into the Russia investigation.
With less than two months to go before Election Day, there has been increased chatter about the “investigation of the investigators,” which Democrats and national security veterans warn is being used by Attorney General William Barr as a weapon to damage President Trump’s political rivals.
A report by the Washington Post said the high-profile departure of Nora Dannehy, a senior prosecutor who joined Durham’s team in early 2019, comes as Barr and others are creating internal tensions by pushing Durham to make a public announcement before the November election even if his investigation is incomplete. Former CIA Director John Brennan was interviewed last month, but the report said high-level FBI officials involved in the Russia case have not yet been approached.
Thomas Carson, a spokesman for Durham, confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Friday that Dannehy resigned from the Justice Department but declined to comment further. Those who claim to know Dannehy or have insider knowledge about her exit suggest she resigned in protest in the face of political influence to release findings before the investigation is complete.
Former federal prosecutor Anne Milgram told CNN she heard there is “pressure” to put out an interim report and that Dannehy “basically said she didn’t want to be a part of that.”
Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney, surmised that a “strong person” like Dannehy would only resign from the Justice Department in the middle of Durham’s investigation if there was a “decision” — either in regard to putting out a report or coming forward with an indictment.
In what has been dubbed the “Russiagate” or “Obamagate” controversy, Trump’s supporters believe top officials in the Obama administration sought to sabotage Trump’s candidacy in 2016 and later his presidency. Many of them have warned that should Durham’s investigation be incomplete if and when Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins the election, his findings will get buried. In turn, Democrats have raised concerns about the public release of Durham’s findings or indictments so close to an election and have warned of a possible politicized “October surprise.”
Even before Dannehy’s departure was publicly known, GOP investigators, some who have argued the public should see Durham’s findings before they cast their ballots, were setting the stage for a major development.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham hinted at something significant when he reacted to newly disclosed documents that show that dozens of phones belonging to members of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team had been “wiped” for a variety of reasons. “You think you are mad about the phones being wiped? Stay tuned. We’ll talk in about 10 or 12 days, and we’ll see if there is something else you can get mad about. Just stay tuned,” the South Carolina Republican said.
Hours earlier, California Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, acknowledged to Fox Business host Lou Dobbs that Durham likely isn’t close to finishing his expansive inquiry, but he said he would like to see an interim report or “initial information” to “put to bed once and for all anything to do with Trump and Russia and just how corrupt this process really was.”
Roughly a year and a half into his investigation, Durham has secured one plea deal. Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty last month to a false statements charge for fraudulently altering a CIA email during the process of the bureau seeking a court’s permission to renew an order to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser.
Barr told NBC News last week there “could be” more charges, but he declined to say whether there will be any major actions before the November election. The attorney general previously said Durham’s priorities are to investigate and prosecute criminal cases and will not delay a report from the U.S. attorney because of the election, stressing that there won’t be a break with Justice Department policies about not disrupting an election because none of the candidates themselves are under investigation.
Still, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff argued that the Durham investigation “was political from the start, and issuing ‘findings’ before the election would violate DOJ policy.” He also said that “at a minimum,” there should be an inspector general investigation into Barr’s leadership at the Justice Department.
