Last year, John Durham, a special prosecutor for the Department of Justice (DOJ), concluded that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should never have opened its investigation of alleged collusion by then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and Russia in late July of 2016.

Now, multiple credible sources tell Public and Racket that the United States Intelligence Community (IC), including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), illegally mobilized foreign intelligence agencies to target Trump advisors long before the summer of 2016.

Special Counsel John Durham testified Wednesday that the CIA in 2016 received intelligence that suggested Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to tie then-candidate Donald Trump to Russia — intelligence that the FBI ignored.

Durham testified publicly for the first time before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, just weeks after releasing a report that found the Justice Department and the FBI never should have launched the Trump-Russia investigation.

Trump-era special counsel John Durham said he is ‘encouraged’ by some of the reforms that have been implemented in the Department of Justice and FBI, but the issues outlined in his report cannot be fixed overnight.

“They cannot be addressed solely by enhancing training, or additional policy requirements,” Durham said. “Rather what is required is accountability, both in terms of the standards to which our law enforcement personnel hold themselves and in the consequences they face for violation of laws and policies of relevance.”

Former special counsel John Durham testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and saw his findings get picked apart by multiple Democratic lawmakers, including Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY).

Schiff in particular pelted Durham repeatedly about former President Donald Trump's actions throughout the 2016 campaign, where he openly encouraged the Russian government to hack his opponent's emails and where his son took a meeting with a Russian agent promising dirt on said opponent.

Special Counsel John Durham, testifying before members of the House Judiciary Committee, described his findings in a report concerning the origins of the FBI's investigation into claims of Russian collusion in former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, called his findings "sobering."

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) accused special counsel John Durham of violating Justice Department protocol by speaking on a pending investigation.

Schiff's accusation came during Durham's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, his first public testimony since he released his final report, which concluded that the FBI had no proper basis for launching its investigation into whether Russia and former President Donald Trump colluded to interfere in the 2016 election.

Trump-era special counsel John Durham is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill this week, just over one month after he released a scathing report on the investigation into former President Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.

Durham — who was appointed to investigate how the FBI launched a probe into Trump’s 2016 campaign and possible contacts with Russia — is set to appear before the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. The Intelligence Committee hearing will take place behind closed doors.

Special counsel John Durham is set to testify on Capitol Hill next month after releasing his report excoriating the FBI over its handling of investigations into the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.

Durham was tasked with investigating Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI’s 2016 investigation into Trump-Russia collusion, and other related activities, in May of 2019. Former Attorney General Bill Barr gave Durham special counsel status in December of 2020 to protect the investigation as the White House changed hands from former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden.

British intelligence expressed skepticism about the FBI's investigation into the Donald Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia in 2016, and eventually became so concerned it stopped cooperating, according to evidence made public in Special Counsel John Durham's recent report.

Durham released his 300+ page report on the origins of the Trump-Russia collusion probe on Monday, representing the culmination of years of investigations. That report excoriated the FBI for pursuing the investigation without possessing any significant evidence of wrongdoing.