Trump expresses frustration that Durham has failed to hold people accountable in 'Russia hoax' probe

Former President Donald Trump sent out a statement Friday afternoon reflecting his frustration that Special Counsel John Durham has so far failed to produce a report or any more indictments or plea deals than the one conviction he got in the review of the origins of the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. 

"Where's Durham? Is he a living, breathing human being? Will there ever be a Durham report?" Trump asked in a statement from his office of the 45th President. 

Trump stated in an interview with Laura Ingraham on Thursday that he prefers issuing these statements as opposed to tweets because he is not limited in the number of words or characters, and they get wide distribution. 

Durham, a U.S. Attorney in Connecticut at the time, was picked by then-Attorney General William Barr in April of 2019 to lead the investigation, and was formally given the title of Special Counsel last October. In February he resigned as U.S. Attorney but continues on as special counsel. 

Barr stated that Durham "is authorized to investigate whether any federal official, employee, or any other person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence, or law-enforcement activities directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, individuals associated with those campaigns, and individuals associated with the administration of President Donald J. Trump, including but not limited to Crossfire Hurricane and the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III."

Even though the whole plot to spy on the Trump campaign by getting FISA warrants under false pretenses was exposed in Michael Horowitz's Inspector General report in December of 2018, the only person held accountable so far has been FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who changed a document to state that Carter Page, an adviser to Trump's campaign, had been a Russian asset, though they knew he had actually been a CIA asset. Clinesmith was given probation, with the judge saying that he had already suffered enough. That was only part of how the FBI under James Comey deceived the FISA court to get them to authorize spying on the Trump campaign. 

They also used the Steele Dossier, a compilation of fabricated reports and alleged witness statements designed to make it look like then-candidate Trump was compromised and colluding with Russians to help him win the presidential election in 2016. 

For many months leading up to the presidential election in 2020, there were strong assurances that Durham would wrap up his investigation well before the election. Then, as it came up within a few months of the election, it was announced that nothing further would be announced by Durham until after the election. 

Unlike Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Durham was not required to issue a report, though he could have, and still might. His job was to indict people who he found criminally liable.

Trump and many of his supporters believed that if Durham had indicted several of the top people involved in the deception and spying, and linked their efforts to their bosses at the time, President Obama and Vice President Biden, that it would have likely assured Trump's reelection.