WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2023) The FBI could have prevented missteps identified by Special Counsel John Durham's probe into the US government's investigation of alleged ties between Donald Trump and Russia if it had implemented reforms made since the incidents in question, the agency said in a statement.
"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. Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented," the FBI said on Monday.
The statement did not include examples of the corrective actions taken by the FBI since the events examined by the Durham probe. Durham was tasked in 2019 with reviewing the US government's investigation of alleged ties between the campaign of then-candidate Trump and Russia, including surveillance of a former campaign adviser.
Durham released the results of his probe in a report earlier on Monday. The report concluded that the FBI never should have launched its Trump-Russia probe.
The report also revealed that, in contrast to its investigation of Trump, the FBI declined to pursue intelligence from a trusted source indicating a potential plan by the campaign of Hillary Clinton to vilify Trump in an effort to divert attention away from her own political scandals.
The report reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI "continues" to do its work with the "rigor, objectivity, and professionalism" the American people expect and deserve, the FBI statement added.
