Garland hopes ‘as much as possible’ of Durham report will be public

By Marshall Cohen

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday that he wants “as much as possible” of special counsel Robert Durham’s eventual report to be released publicly.

Durham was appointed during the Trump administration to investigate the FBI’s Russia probe, which uncovered contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians during the 2016 election.

“With respect to the report, I would like as much as possible to be made public,” Garland said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “I have to be concerned about Privacy Act concerns and classification, but other than that, the commitment is to provide a public report, yes.”

Under questioning from Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Garland also pledged that there would not be any political interference with Durham’s investigation. The probe has been criticized by many Democrats, largely because it is seen as an effort by to undermine the Russia investigation.

Durham’s work was launched in 2019 by former Attorney General William Barr, a skeptic of the Russia investigation. The Justice Department regulations that govern Durham’s conduct don’t require a public report — but previous special counsels, including Robert Mueller, have publicly released their findings.

Former President Donald Trump has suggested that Durham’s investigation will uncover a vast conspiracy to use the FBI and DOJ against his 2016 campaign and lead to criminal charges against senior Obama administration officials. So far, the Durham probe has fallen significantly short of Trump’s expectations. Durham indicted a Hillary Clinton campaign attorney for lying to an FBI official. (He has pleaded not guilty.) And a low-level FBI lawyer pleaded guilty to doctoring an email about a FISA surveillance warrant against an ex-Trump campaign adviser in 2016.

The-CNN-Wire
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