The Worst Part Of The Durham Report Is What's Not In It
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/john-durham-final-report-missing-piece
Bill Barrs Trusty Stooge
Special Counsel John Durham got spun so many different ways by Bill Barr that by the time he released his 300-plus-page final report yesterday after a four-year investigation that stretched longer than the Mueller investigation he was investigating his reputation, dignity, and sense of proportion had all disappeared.
The problem with trying to hold Durham to account on the facts now is that it requires extensive knowledge of events that are now creeping from current affairs into the historical past: the run-up to the 2016 election, Russias meddling in the election, Trumps many misdeeds in this arena before and after his inauguration, the Mueller investigation, the origins of the Durham probe, the many bogus conspiracy theories that gave rise to the Durham probe and that it unselfconsciously helped to reinforce.
Its a lot.
Ive followed it all closely for years, but I cant keep it all in my head. You probably cant either. Neither can most journalists or policymakers. And therein lies much of the disadvantage that misinformation thrives on. It was easy for bad-faith, conspiracy-minded MAGA supporters to hold up Durhams tome yesterday and declare that it showed exactly what they said all along, even though it didnt.
But let me zero in on what I think is the most glaring example of Durhams bad faith, Bill Barrs ratfuckery, and the politicization of the Justice Department under Trump.
*snip*