The FBI responded Monday to the scathing report by Special Counsel John Durham that found the Department of Justice and FBI ‘failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law’ when it launched the Trump-Russia investigation.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the agency touted what it said were ‘dozens of corrective actions’ already implemented as a result of the Durham investigation.
‘The conduct in 2016 and 2017 that Special Counsel Durham examined was the reason that current FBI leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time. Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented,’ the FBI said.
‘This report reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI continues to do its work with the rigor, objectivity, and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect,’ it added.
Fox obtained Durham’s report Monday afternoon after his years-long investigation into the origins of the FBI’s original investigation, known as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’ That investigation looked into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Durham gave his final report to the Justice Department, which released it Monday afternoon. The report spans more than 300 pages.
‘Based on the review of Crossfire Hurricane and related intelligence activities, we conclude that the Department and the FBI failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report,’ the report said.
Durham said his investigation also revealed that ‘senior FBI personnel displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor towards the information that they received, especially information received from politically-affiliated persons and entities.’
‘This information in part triggered and sustained Crossfire Hurricane and contributed to the subsequent need for Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation,’ the report said. ‘In particular, there was significant reliance on investigative leads provided or funded (directly or indirectly) by Trump’s political opponents.’
‘The Department did not adequately examine or question these materials and the motivations of those providing them, even when at about the same time the Director of the FBI and others learned of significant and potentially contrary intelligence,’ the report said.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
