The attempted investigation into John Durham’s supposed misconduct by Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) is a clear example of political grandstanding and partisan gamesmanship. Their claims of misconduct are unsubstantiated and the suggestion that Attorney General William Barr appointed Durham to investigate the origins of the FBI inquiry into ties between former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia out of his own self-interest is completely unfounded.
At best, this proposed investigation appears to be an attempt to undermine Durham’s findings and cast doubt upon them before they have even had a chance to see the light of day. At worst, it could be part of a broader effort by Democrats in Congress to distract from their own inability to effectively govern or provide any meaningful solutions for the American people.
The recent report from The New York Times about episodes that allegedly show how Durham’s inquiry became “roiled by internal dissent and ethical disputes” is highly suspect. It should be noted that the details of this report remain largely unclear, yet Durbin has used it as a justification for launching his investigation regardless. Moreover, if one were to take this report at face value, then why haven’t we heard more about these issues from anyone else involved with the inquiry? It seems highly unlikely that such major ethical breaches would have gone entirely unnoticed and without comment from other prosecutors working on the case.
Furthermore, while it has been reported that Durham expanded his investigation at one point to include suspicious financial dealings tied with Trump, no charges have been brought forward yet — indicating that there likely isn’t much merit behind these accusations either. This proposal by Durbin is nothing more than an attempt to politicize an ongoing inquiry in order to curry favor among his base — something which all reasonable people should reject out of hand as unacceptable behavior by our elected officials.
