Former President Donald Trump is demanding that Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Department of Justice (DOJ) drop its criminal investigation following the release of John Durham’s unrelated report.
The report from Durham, special counsel, released on Monday found that the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” probe was launched on the basis of only “raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence” and no “actual evidence of collusions” between the Trump campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump said that the report was evidence of “the Democrat Hoax that was perpetrated upon me and the American people” in a series of Truth Social posts a short time later, arguing that the FBI’s investigation amounted to “2020 Presidential Election Fraud” and “the crime of the century.”
He then accused Smith—whose dual investigations are looking into the unrelated matters of Trump’s post-presidency handling of classified documents and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election result—of playing “the same games” as James Comey, director of the FBI at the time of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Joe Raedle; Jerry Lampen/Pool/AFP
“JACK SMITH AND THE SPECIAL PERSECUTORS OFFICE ARE PLAYING THE SAME GAMES WITH ELECTION INTERFERENCE AND FAKE PROSECUTIONS AS JAMES COMEY, ONLY FAR MORE OBVIOUS,” Trump wrote.
“THE DOJ MUST END THIS CHARADE RIGHT NOW, AND THAT GOES TO THEIR USE OF D.A.’s & A.G’s IN ATLANTA & NEW YORK,” he continued. “MAGA!!!”
The FBI said in a statement to Newsweek that “dozens of corrective actions” had already taken place within the bureau under current leadership, arguing that “the missteps identified” in Durham’s report would not have taken place if the reforms had been implemented earlier.
“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,” the statement reads.
“Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented,” it continues. “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.”
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s office via email and the DOJ online for comment.
Before the Durham report’s release, Trump repeatedly argued that Crossfire Hurricane was part of a “political witch hunt” by his political enemies. He has made similar claims about a number of additional and unrelated investigations and lawsuits.
The former president is currently facing 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in New York. He could face additional criminal charges stemming from Smith’s investigations and Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis’ probe of an attempt to reverse Trump’s 2020 loss in the state to President Joe Biden.
Last week, a civil lawsuit from former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll ended with a New York jury ordering Trump to pay $5 million after he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million civil suit against Trump and three of his adult children, which alleges “staggering” business fraud, is expected to go to trial this year.