U.S. Attorney John Durham, who was recently appointed as a special counsel to continue investigating the origins of the Russiagate hoax, is reportedly making “excellent progress” and is even adding additional prosecutors to his team, according to a tweet by Fox News’ Bret Baier.
Attorney General William Barr made Durham a special counsel in late October so that Durham can continue his investigation without obstruction if Democratic candidate Joe Biden takes office.
“I decided the best thing to do would be to appoint them under the same regulation that covered Bob Mueller, to provide Durham and his team some assurance that they’d be able to complete their work regardless of the outcome of the election,” Barr explained.
It appears this additional autonomy has allowed Durham to expand his probe.
US Attorney John Durham, who AG Bill Barr tapped to investigate the origins of the Trump Russia probe, is expanding his team by adding additional prosecutors, and is making, “excellent progress,” according to a federal law enforcement official familiar w/ the situation
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) December 14, 2020
This expansion includes a heightened focus on ex-British spy Christopher Steele, who authored the infamous Steele dossier, according to Politico.
Durham reportedly believes the notes Steele took throughout his meetings with the FBI could contain evidence that FBI agents improperly disclosed classified information about Crossfire Hurricane.
Beyond Steele, Durham now has the power to investigate “whether any federal official, employee, or any other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns,” according to the Justice Department.
Thus far, Durham’s investigation has yielded only one indictment: former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith.
The unabashedly partisan, anti-Trump Clinesmith knowingly altered a piece of potentially exculpatory evidence that would have undermined the FBI’s efforts to secure a warrant to spy on Trump adviser Carter Page.
Earlier this month Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe told the Washington Examiner that he has given thousands of documents to Durham.
“The American people deserve an accounting, and I’ve certainly provided a lot of information to the now-special counsel to provide that accounting, and I’m counting, like all Americans, on him to talk about a lot of the things that I know that I can’t talk about,” Ratcliffe said.