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On Friday, the Biden Department of Justice issued a news release that read in part:
After serving as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut for more than three years, and as a federal prosecutor in Connecticut for more than 38 years, John H. Durham today announced his resignation from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, effective at midnight on February 28.
“My career has been as fulfilling as I could ever have imagined when I graduated from law school way back in 1975,” said U.S. Attorney Durham. “Much of that fulfillment has come from all the people with whom I’ve been blessed to share this workplace, and in our partner law enforcement agencies. My love and respect for this Office and the vitally important work done here have never diminished. It has been a tremendous honor to serve as U.S. Attorney, and as a career prosecutor before that, and I will sorely miss it.”
Prior to his appointment as an interim U.S. Attorney in November 2017 and subsequently as the presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney in February 2018, Mr. Durham served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in various positions in the District of Connecticut for 35 years, prosecuting complex organized crime, violent crime, public corruption and financial fraud matters. From 1978 to 1982, he served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office, and from 1977 to 1978, he served as a Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard C Boyle will serve as Acting U.S. Attorney upon Mr. Durham’s departure.
When the DOJ news release broke conservative social media accounts, and especially those of our more conspiracy minded friends, went into overdrive alleging that the “Durham investigation” was done and nothing would be revealed about the illegal origins of the Obama-era spying on the 2016 Trump campaign, and the set-up and the framing of General Mike Flynn, among other matters in Durham’s special counsel brief.
However, none of that is actually true, at least yet.
According to reporting by Chad Pergram of Fox News, John Durham remains special counsel and will continue to investigate the origins of the Obama-era spying on then-candidate and President Donald Trump and his associates.
But, and this is a big but, former Justice Department friends tell us Special Counsel Durham will be wholly dependent now on the goodwill and resources from the Attorney General and other Biden appointees at the Department of Justice because he has no clearly stated independent budget and hiring authority.
Translation: Mueller had carte blanche hiring authority and unlimited funds for his investigation, Durham, maybe not so much.
And that concern was borne out as legitimate during the confirmation hearing for Judge Merrick Garland to be Attorney General. During his hearing Merrick Garland was asked if he will keep special counsel John Durham and he refused to answer.
Former Congressman and Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows was quick to jump on Garland’s evasion tweeting:
If Merrick Garland won’t commit to letting John Durham finish the ‘Russia probe’ investigation, he should not be Attorney General.
Far, FAR more evidence backs the Durham investigation than did Bob Mueller’s ‘collusion’ farce.
Let Durham investigate. And release his report.
Release his report? We want him to release indictments and prosecutions, not some report. It remains to be seen if Durham will do anything, or should we say be allowed to do anything, but at this point it is too early to say the Durham investigation is over.
Durham investigation
U.S. Attorney
resignation
Biden Department of Justice
Obama spying
General Mike Flynn
Special Counsel
Donald Trump campaign
Biden Attorney General
Judge Merrick Garland
Russia probe
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