🇺🇸 Danchenko Ducks Durham

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POLITICS

Danchenko Ducks Durham

Last week a jury acquitted Igor Danchenko on federal charges of lying to the FBI. Special counsel John Durham personally tried the case against Danchenko, and he laid out ways the FBI allegedly mishandled the Russian collusion investigation.

Reporting from the Left: Durham loses again in court, but trial airs FBI flaws (POLITICO)

Reporting from the Right: Primary source of Steele dossier acquitted on charges of lying to the FBI in major defeat for Durham (Washington Times)

From The Flag: Claims submitted by Danchenko, a Russian analyst, to ex-British spy Christopher Steele formed the basis of the so-called dossier that led to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference. Meuller eventually determined there was no collusion between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia. In the past, we covered the origins of the Trump and Russia narrative, as well as controversies involving the FBI. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Despite Acquittal, the Sleazy, Corrupt Origins of “Russiagate” Are Now Clear

• While it’s true that Danchenko was acquitted, the trial showed the FBI and former director James Comey are directly to blame for the “Russiagate” hoax.

• The trial laid bare that the FBI decided to proceed with its investigation of Trump despite it being based on hearsay rather than any hard evidence.

• Despite media coverage celebrating this as a “defeat’ for Durham, he accomplished his goal of exposing the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

“Danchenko is acquitted, but Comey and the FBI are guilty of perpetrating the Russia hoax” Gregg Jarrett, Fox News Opinion: “Igor Danchenko was acquitted… another setback for special counsel John Durham, but the verdict comes as no surprise. The case was tried in Alexandria, Virginia where 80% of residents voted Democrat in the last presidential election. In a politically charged case involving names like Trump and Clinton, it was always an uphill battle for Durham… In reality, the crooked FBI was in the dock throughout the weeklong trial, exposed for its years of shameful lies, shocking corruption, and devious cover-ups. It was former Director James Comey and his sleazy confederates who colluded with the Hillary Clinton campaign to falsely accuse Trump of colluding with Russia. They framed him for alleged crimes he never committed. The genesis of the lies came from Hillary herself, according to declassified documents. In the run-up to 2016 presidential election, she personally approved a plan to defame her political opponent as a clandestine Russian mole.”

“John Durham Puts the FBI on Trial” Kimberley Strassel, Wall Street Journal Opinion: “Mr. Durham has used this trial to put the FBI in the hot seat… and really tell a story of incompetence or political bias. You can take your pick. Maybe a bit of both. But what we have now found… the FBI by October of 2016 had sat down with Christopher Steele, the official author of this dossier, had offered him a million dollars to be able to try to confirm or legitimize anything in his dossier. He was unable to do that. By January, they'd sat down with Danchenko, who was the primary source for Mr. Steele for most of this dossier. He told them that Mr. Steele had misstated or exaggerated a lot of what he provided, that a lot of it was gossip and hearsay, and that he could not confirm anything that was in it. Yet the FBI, as I mentioned, moved forward on the basis of this.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Durham’s In-Your-Face Danchenko Gambit Jack Cashill, American Thinker

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Durham’s Failure Now Complete, the “Deep State” Narrative Goes Bust

• For years right-leaning pundits have asserted Durham would uncover a “deep state” conspiracy against Trump, but he’s failed to do so.

• Durham’s performance throughout the trial was subpar, and he’s cemented himself as the worst special counsel since Ken Starr.

• Both Durham and former AG William Barr have tarnished their reputation throughout the special counsel investigation.

“Acquittal of Russia Analyst Deals Final Blow to Trump-Era Prosecutor” Charlie Savage and Linda Qiu, New York Times: “The verdict was a final blow to the politically charged criminal investigation by John H. Durham, the special counsel appointed by Attorney General William P. Barr three years ago to scour the FBI’s inquiry into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia for any wrongdoing. Mr. Trump and his supporters had long insisted the Durham inquiry would prove a ‘deep state’ conspiracy against him, but despite pursuing various such claims, Mr. Durham never charged any high-level government officials. Instead he developed two cases centered on the narrow charge of making false statements in outside efforts to scrutinize purported links between Mr. Trump and Russia. He crammed the indictments with extraneous material and insinuations that he thought Democrats had sought to frame Mr. Trump for collusion with Russia, though he did not charge any such conspiracy.”

“The Durham Debacle Another embarrassing defeat for the worst independent prosecutor since Ken Starr.” Ankush Khardori, New York Magazine: “When we last saw Durham’s team in court, they had lost a trial in the spring against a former lawyer for the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign, but commentators in conservative media came up with a variety of excuses to explain this… the presiding judge was an Obama appointee… the District of Columbia, where the case was tried, is almost entirely comprised of Democratic voters. Neither of these things applied in the Danchenko case: …the judge was a George W. Bush appointee, and the Northern Virginia area is much more politically diverse. … Durham tried the case himself, and his performance sounded bizarre, if not downright bad. He attacked his own witnesses… (and) seemed consumed with the relationship between the dossier and the opening of the Trump-Russia investigation and at one point said during his rebuttal closing argument that there was ‘no collusion’ between the Trump campaign and Russia.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: John Durham probe failure belongs to Barr — and Trump Dennis Aftergut, NBC News Opinion

FLAG THIS

Can’t Quit the Russia Narrative, and Losing Trust in Media

Polling data indicates allegations concerning former President Trump’s campaign colluding with Russia have stuck. In 2019, after special Counsel Robert Mueller released his report’s findings, 48% of respondents said they believed there had been collusion between the campaign and Russia (Reuters/Ipsos).

Late last year when Danchenko was charged, a piece featured by the Heritage Foundation linked Americans’ distrust of news reports to the Russian collusion story. The article noted just 36% of Americans have trust in the media (Gallup).

FLAG FINDS

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