Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan told Newsmax TV on Wednesday that he’s pleased U.S. Attorney John Durham has been named special counsel to look into possible wrongdoing by investigators who conducted the Russia collusion probe but would rather have had charges filed or at least the release of the announcement when it happened in October.
''I wish (Durham) would have released his report, or better yet, some indictments would have happened prior to the election, sometime this summer, as we were originally told,'' Jordan, R-Ohio, said on ''Stinchfield.'' ''The good news is … the attorney general has named him as special counsel, giving him that designation. It think that is positive.
''I wished he would have announced that fact even. Because he did it in October. I wished he would have announced it back in October when he named Mr. Durham as special counsel.''
Durham, the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, was tasked in early 2019 to investigate the officials in the Department of Justice, FBI, CIA and other intelligence agencies as to their collection of information involving the Trump campaign and contact with Russian officials. More than a year ago, the matter had reportedly become a criminal investigation.
The investigation in August produced the guilty plea of Kevin Clinesmith, a Justice Department lawyer who admitted to falsifying documents in the counterintelligence probe Crossfire Hurricane which later became Special Counsel Robert Muller’s inquiry into the supposed conspiracy with Russian officials.
Republicans have criticized officials from President Barack Obama’s administration involved in Crossfire Hurricane and Mueller’s investigation, such as former FBI Director James Comey, former Justice Department lawyer Andrew Weissmann and former FBI Agent Peter Strzok, among others.
With a potential Joe Biden presidency, speculation has arisen that Attorney General Bill Barr designated Durham as a special prosecutor so that any incoming administration could not simply end the investigation into former associates.
''It’s good that Durham is named special counsel,'' Jordan said. ''I just hope he finishes the investigation ASAP, and some of the people … are actually held to account.''
Important: See Newsmax TV now carried in 70 million cable homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, or Find More Cable Systems – Click Here.