New information has surfaced on Friday giving more insight into why U.S. Attorney John Durham will not be releasing his report detailing the findings of his criminal investigation into the origins of the FBI’s probe into the 2016 Trump campaign. The investigation so far has resulted in one conviction, but it is not yet clear if others involved in the Russia investigation will face charges. 

CBS News Senior Investigative Correspondent Catherine Herridge indicated in a series of tweets that two factors have slowed down the investigation. The first issue is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hampered the operations of many different organizations. Second, and most interesting, is the fact that Durham’s investigation “expanded in recent weeks,” and it is now going “well beyond origins of FBI Russia probe.” 

#Durham Two sources, 1 admin + 1 senior republican, both familiar with probe said they do not BELIEVE findings or indictments will come before election, in part, COVID-19 + Durham's work expanded in recent weeks + goes well beyond origins of FBI Russia probe (original mandate) https://t.co/28GsjAivkM

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) October 9, 2020

“This includes Sept 2016 CIA investigative referral to FBI over alleged 3rd party discussion of HRC approved plan ‘concerning candidate Trump + Russian hackers’ + Brennan notes,” Herridge added. “Separately, official told @CBSNews that if there is a probability of future prosecutions stemming from Durham then there cannot be a report released prior to that. The official would not comment as to whether potential prosecutions are in the works.”

This includes Sept 2016 CIA investigative referral to FBI over alleged 3rd party discussion of HRC approved plan “concerning candidate Trump + Russian hackers" + Brennan notes. Separately, official told @CBSNews that if there is a probability of future prosecutions stemming from https://t.co/Uzy9tjsJzS

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) October 9, 2020

The reporter’s comments come amid reports that Attorney General William Barr informed top Republicans that the Justice Department’s probe into the origins of the Russia investigation would not be released prior to the election. According to Axios, Barr said Durham is working in a deliberate and calculated fashion, and they need to be patient. The general sense of the talks, the source says, is that Durham is not preoccupied with completing his probe by a certain deadline for political purposes.”

The news about the expanded scope of the investigation to include the CIA investigative referral comes shortly after Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassified documents detailing information that intelligence agencies procured in 2016.

“U.S. intelligence agencies obtained insight into Russian intelligence analysis alleging that U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had approved a campaign plan to stir up a scandal against U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump by tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee,” the document explained. “The IC does not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication.”

The document continued, “On 07 September 2016, U.S. intelligence officials forwarded an investigative referral to FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok regarding ‘U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private mail server.’”

Ratcliffe later declassified information revealing that former CIA Director John Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama on the information they had obtained. 

For the time being, it appears that we must play the waiting game for longer when it comes to Durham’s investigation. But it seems that many are beginning to lose faith in the probe as it seems that nobody who engaged in wrongdoing will face justice. If Biden manages to defeat Trump in November, it is almost certain that the agents who abused their positions will get off scot-free. In the end, this whole investigation business might just turn out to be a useless exercise. 

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