U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Kingsport, said the Durham Report released Monday confirms an investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump and his campaign for colluding with Russia was a “hoax.”
“The 2016 Russia collusion investigation had no basis in evidence,” she said. “In other words, it was a total hoax.”
An investigation into the origins of the FBI’s probe into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign concluded Monday, with prosecutor John Durham submitting a much-awaited report that found major flaws.
Durham’s investigation led to one guilty plea and two acquittals at trial.
Durham’s report found that the FBI rushed into its investigation of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and relied too much on raw and unconfirmed intelligence.
His findings did not lead him to ask for any policy changes, but he instead said that the FBI should strive for the standards it has in the past.
One significant part of the report stated that the FBI did not conduct a preliminary investigation and, instead, went head forward into a full investigation with more intrusive investigation efforts.
Harshbarger criticized the bureau starkly and floated the idea of scrutinizing funding.
“The FBI interfered in our election, plain and simple, and they must be held accountable,” Harshbarger said. “It’s time to defund these corrupt divisions at the FBI and DOJ and indict the criminals behind this witch hunt.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://harshbarger.house.gov/media/in-the-news/rep-harshbarger-releases-statement-durham-investigation