John R. Houk
© May 15, 2019
By now you have probably read that AG William Barr has
appointed John Durham from the DOJ to investigate probable corruption in the
process that led to spying on the Trump Campaign of 2016. Hopefully the scope
of that investigation includes an examination of the FBI investigation into
Crooked Hillary’s ILLEGAL private unsecured email server and Crooked Hillary
Campaign involvement (which must include any Obama connection) in 2016 election
manipulation.
BUT a history of Dem law breaking excuses means I’m not
holding my breath for any actionable prosecution. I MEAN MY GOD, Trump
appointee Director Christopher Wray is providing every appearance of covering
up for FBI spying and corruption in all connections to President Trump:
o
Louie
Gohmert accuses FBI Director Wray of a Hillary Clinton emails cover-up;
By Daniel Chaitin; Washington Examiner;
5/8/19 11:27 AM
o FBI
Director Wray Caught Participating in the Cover Up of Obama Administration’s
Illegal Surveillance of American Citizens; By Elder
Patriot; Patriot Crier; 5/8/19
o Wray
Buries Evidence! Steele Confession Deliberately Hidden From Congress; By Georgette; Conservative Daily
Post; 5/8/19 1:20 PM UPDATED 5:31 PM
o Trump
takes swipe at FBI Director Wray for ‘protecting’ Russia probe ‘gang’; By Brooke Singman;
Fox
News; 5/13/19
By most accounts John
Durham has been receiving accolades as a politically neutral Prosecutor of
integrity. BUT when Robert Mueller was appointed as Special Prosecutor, he too
received integrity accolades from the GOP and Dems alike. I remember Rep. Louie
Gohmert raising concerns about Mueller. AND sure enough Mueller proceeded to
assemble a prosecutorial team of Crooked Hillary donors and Dem Party hacks.
AGAIN due to a
history of Dems skating away from legal action when laws are broken, I will not
be surprised if NOTHING comes to account with a Durham investigation. By the
way – for the same reasons I’m not holding my breath with reputed forthcoming
revelations from Inspector General Michael
Horowitz relating to FBI impropriety.
If my underwhelming
suspicions are proven inaccurate, I WILL BE ECSTATIC.
JRH 5/15/19
Your generosity is always appreciated:
************************
By Fred Lucas
May 14, 2019
John Durham, known
for prosecuting FBI agents connected to infamous mobster James “Whitey” Bulger,
is now a fourth attorney general’s pick to lead a special investigation into
suspected government misconduct.
The Justice
Department confirmed to media outlets that Attorney General William Barr named
Durham, now U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, to look into why and
how department and FBI officials began investigating associates of President
Donald Trump before the 2016 election.
Durham’s resume
includes investigating the mafia and crooked politicians.
Attorneys general
from the Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama administrations all
previously appointed Durham to lead special investigations.
Barr reportedly
selected him to head the probe weeks ago, as the FBI came under intensified
scrutiny for spying on one Trump campaign adviser and sending a confidential
informant to talk to another.
In the aftermath of
special counsel Robert Mueller’s report clearing the Trump campaign of conspiracy
with Russia to influence the election, many Republican lawmakers called for an
investigation into how the probe of Trump and his team commenced.
Two known incidents
loom large: The FBI obtained a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act to put Trump campaign aide Carter
Page under surveillance. The FBI also sent a confidential
informant to talk to George Papadopoulos, another Trump campaign aide, in a
bar. The woman told Papadopoulos that her name was Azra
Turk, and he later described her as “flirtatious.”
Here are six things
to know about the prosecutor picked by Barr.
1. Career Prosecutor
Durham, 68, began
his career as a Connecticut state prosecutor working from 1978 to 1982 in the
New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office.
A registered
Republican, he next served in nonpolitical positions through 35 years in the
U.S. District of Connecticut, based in New Haven.
From 1982 to 1989,
Durham supervised the New Haven field office of the Boston Strike Force in the
Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. For the next
five years, he was chief of the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney’s
Office in New Haven.
From 1994 through
2008, he served as deputy U.S. attorney, and then, through 2017, as counsel to
the U.S. attorney.
Trump’s first
attorney general, Jeff Sessions, appointed Durham as acting U.S. attorney for
Connecticut in October 2017, and Trump nominated him
for the post the next month. He took office in February 2018.
2. Busting Mafia-FBI Connection
In 1999,
then-Attorney General Janet Reno appointed
Durham to investigate corruption in federal law enforcement in
Boston.
He examined whether
two Boston mob figures, Bulger and Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi, had corrupted
the FBI agents whom they served as informants.
Durham’s
investigation led to a 10-year prison sentence for retired FBI agent John
Connolly Jr., found guilty of helping the two gangsters avoid prosecution.
As part of this
investigation, Durham produced documents showing four men had been framed by
FBI agents and convicted of murder in the 1960s. Two died in prison, but two
others won a $100 million civil judgment against the Justice Department.
3. Special Probes of CIA and Terror Detainees
In 2008,
then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed Durham as a special prosecutor
to conduct what turned into a three-year probe of the destruction of CIA
interrogation tapes. He didn’t recommend any
prosecutions.
In an overlapping
probe, then-Attorney General Eric Holder named him as a special prosecutor to
investigate alleged mistreatment
of terror suspects by CIA interrogators and government
contractors.
The second probe
came after the Justice Department released a report noting possible past abuse
by CIA interrogators. Durham concluded by closing most of the cases, but called
for continued inquiries into the deaths of two prisoners.
4. Devoted Catholic, Red Sox Fan
Despite handling
high-profile cases, Durham typically keeps a low profile.
Earlier this year,
according to The Day newspaper in New London, Connecticut Deputy Chief State’s
Attorney Leonard C. Boyle noted the only reason that Durham would make a public
speech to a crowd at the University of St. Joseph, a Roman Catholic school in West
Hartford, Connecticut.
“Other than an
overwhelming commitment to the cause of justice, the two great devotions of
John’s life are his Catholic faith and his family,” Boyle said of Durham.
Durham and his wife
Susan have four sons and eight grandchildren. He reportedly is a big Boston Red
Sox fan.
The New Republic, a
liberal magazine, wrote of
Durham in 2011 that he “earned a nonpartisan, camera-shy, ‘white knight’
reputation.”
Among them was the
case of Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland, a Republican who resigned in 2004
after federal prosecutors found he illegally took gifts from state contractors.
Rowland pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in prison for offenses committed
as governor.
Durham also led an
investigation of Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, a Democrat, who was convicted on
racketeering and bribery charges in 2003. Ganim spent six years in prison.
6. Lauded by Democrats
Democrats recently
excoriated Barr for even using the word “spy” to talk about actions by the
Obama administration’s FBI and Justice Department against the Trump campaign
before the presidential election in November 2016.
However, Democrats
could have a difficult time in attacking Durham.
Confirmed as U.S.
attorney in February 2018 by a voice vote in the Senate, he had gained praise
from Democrats when Trump nominated him.
Among these admirers
were two of Trump’s biggest critics, Connecticut’s two Democratic
senators—Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy. The two men had recommended
Durham to serve as U.S. attorney.
“John Durham has
earned immense respect as a no-nonsense, fierce and fair prosecutor, and we are
pleased that the White House has agreed with our recommendation that he serve
as United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut,” a joint
statement by Blumenthal and Murphy said. “As an Assistant
United States Attorney, John Durham has proven himself time and time again in
some of the most challenging and sensitive cases.”
It looks like Barr
has found just such another case for Durham.
______________________
Will Durham Finally End Deep State Corruption?
John R. Houk
© May 15, 2019
__________________
6 Things to Know About the Prosecutor Investigating Spying
on Trump Campaign
Fred Lucas is the White House
correspondent for The Daily Signal and co-host of "The
Right Side of History" podcast. Send an email to Fred. @FredLucasWH
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