2 weeks ago
10
It’s the archetypal clip successful astir a decennary that a peculiar counsel is not investigating thing related to a sitting oregon erstwhile president, but the remnants and revelations of past peculiar counsel probes proceed to interruption done the news cycle.
Every lawyer general-appointed peculiar counsel since 2017 has present released their reports, issued their indictments, received their verdicts, shuttered their offices, disassembled their teams and returned to their authorities oregon backstage assemblage roles.
Essentially, they’ve each moved on.
BIDEN INTERVIEW AUDIO REVEALS WHO BROUGHT UP BEAU'S DEATH – AND IT WASN'T HUR
First, successful 2017, determination was Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was investigating whether members of the archetypal Trump run colluded with Russia to power the 2016 election.
Special counsel Robert Mueller
Then, successful 2019, determination was Special Counsel John Durham, who was investigating the origins of the Mueller probe and the archetypal FBI probe into then-candidate Donald Trump and his campaign.
Soon, it was 2022, and Special Counsel Jack Smith began investigating then-former President Trump for his alleged improper retention of classified records held astatine his Mar-a-Lago residence successful Florida aft his presidency. Smith besides began investigating events surrounding the 2020 predetermination and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Next up, successful 2023, Special Counsel Robert Hur was appointed and began investigating now-former President Joe Biden’s alleged improper retention of classified records, which occurred during his vice presidency arsenic portion of the Obama administration.
Later successful 2023, David Weiss, who had served arsenic U.S. lawyer successful Delaware and had been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018, was appointed peculiar counsel to proceed his yearslong probe into the now-former archetypal son.
At this point, those investigations person each travel to their resolutions: Mueller, successful 2019, recovered determination was nary collusion; Durham, successful 2022, recovered that the FBI ignored "clear informing signs" of a Hillary Clinton-led program to inaccurately necktie her hostile to Russia utilizing politically funded and uncorroborated absorption research; Smith, successful 2022, charged Trump but had those charges tossed; Hur, successful 2023, opted against charging Biden; Weiss, successful 2023, charged Hunter Biden, who was convicted and aboriginal pardoned by his father.
But the curiosity surrounding those investigations that dominated headlines for the amended portion of a decennary remains, mostly due to the fact that of truthful galore escaped ends and the prevalence of unanswered questions.
Special Counsel Robert Hur, left, successful his study described erstwhile President Joe Biden arsenic "a sympathetic, well-meaning, aged antheral with a mediocre memory." (Getty Images)
A trickle, sometimes much similar a flood, of accusation and quality related to those probes continues to seep into the quality cycle.
On Friday night, audio of Biden’s interrogation with Hur was made public. Hur closed his probe successful 2024 without charging the then-president and infamously described him arsenic a "sympathetic, well-meaning aged antheral with a mediocre memory."
Some legislature lawmakers had demanded the merchandise of the audio of Biden’s interrogation amid questions astir the erstwhile president’s representation lapses and intelligence acuity.
BIDEN STRUGGLES WITH WORDS, KEY MEMORIES IN LEAKED AUDIO FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW
The audio – arsenic expected, based connected the transcript of the interrogation released successful 2024 – showed Biden struggling with cardinal memories, including erstwhile his son, Beau, died; erstwhile helium near the vice presidency; and wherefore helium had classified documents helium shouldn’t person had.
In a throwback to different peculiar counsel investigation, the United States Secret Service past week paid a sojourn to erstwhile FBI Director James Comey aft helium posted a now-deleted representation connected societal media that galore interpreted arsenic a veiled telephone for an assassination of Trump.
Former FBI Director James Comey (Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Comey connected Thursday posted to Instagram an representation of seashells connected the formation arranged to amusement "86 47" with the caption, "Cool ammunition enactment connected my formation walk."
Some interpreted it arsenic a coded message, with "86" being slang for "get escaped of" and "47" referring to Trump, who is the 47th president.
TRUMP SAYS COMEY KNEW 'ASSASSINATION' MEANING BEHIND DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST
Comey aboriginal deleted the station and wrote a connection that said, "I didn't recognize immoderate folks subordinate those numbers with violence. It ne'er occurred to maine but I reason unit of immoderate benignant truthful I took the station down."
Comey was the FBI manager who, successful 2016, allowed the opening of the bureau’s archetypal Trump-Russia investigation, known wrong the FBI arsenic "Crossfire Hurricane." Trump fired Comey successful May 2017. Days later, Mueller was appointed arsenic peculiar counsel to instrumentality implicit that investigation, frankincense opening the drawstring of peculiar counsels.
Donald Trump, Robert Mueller, Hillary Clinton (AP Newsroom | Getty Images)
Durham investigated the origins of the FBI probe and recovered that the FBI did not person immoderate existent grounds to enactment the commencement of that investigation. Durham besides recovered that the CIA, successful 2016, received quality to amusement that Hillary Clinton had approved a program to necktie then-candidate Trump to Russia; quality that the FBI, led by Comey, ignored.
DECLASSIFIED TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE DOCS TO DATE: WHAT TO KNOW
On July 28, 2016, then-CIA Director John Brennan briefed then-President Barack Obama connected a program from 1 of Clinton's run overseas argumentation advisers "to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a ungraded claiming interference by the Russian information service."
Biden, Comey, erstwhile Attorney General Loretta Lynch and erstwhile Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were successful the Brennan-Obama briefing, according to the Durham report.
After that briefing, the CIA decently forwarded that accusation done a counterintelligence operational pb (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok with the taxable enactment "Crossfire Hurricane."
Fox News archetypal obtained and reported connected the CIOL successful October 2020, which stated, "The pursuing accusation is provided for the exclusive usage of your bureau for inheritance investigative enactment oregon pb purposes arsenic appropriate."
"Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the beneath examples of accusation the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion compartment has gleaned to date," the memo continued. "An speech (REDACTED) discussing US statesmanlike campaigner Hillary Clinton’s support of a program concerning US statesmanlike campaigner Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections arsenic a means of distracting the nationalist from her usage of a backstage email server."
Republican statesmanlike nominee Donald Trump and Democrat statesmanlike nominee Hillary Clinton are shown aft their statesmanlike statement connected Sept. 26, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
By January 2017, Comey had notified Trump of a dossier, known arsenic the Steele dossier, that contained salacious and unverified allegations astir Trump’s purported coordination with the Russian government, a cardinal papers prompting the opening of the probe.
The dossier was authored by Christopher Steele, an ex-British quality officer, and commissioned by Fusion GPS. Clinton's statesmanlike run hired Fusion GPS during the 2016 predetermination cycle.
It was yet determined that the Clinton run and the Democratic National Committee funded the dossier done the instrumentality steadfast Perkins Coie.
Durham, successful his report, said the FBI, led by Comey, "failed to enactment connected what should person been – erstwhile combined with different incontrovertible facts – a wide informing motion that the FBI mightiness past beryllium the people of an effort to manipulate oregon power the instrumentality enforcement process for governmental purposes during the 2016 statesmanlike election."
But that quality referral papers is conscionable 1 of galore that tells the existent communicative down the probe that clouded the archetypal Trump administration.
And Trump has taken steps to guarantee the American nationalist has afloat entree to each the documents.
Trump, successful precocious March, signed an enforcement bid directing the FBI to instantly declassify files concerning the Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
Special Counsel John Durham indicated the Department of Justice and FBI "failed to uphold their ngo of strict fidelity to the law" erstwhile it launched the Trump-Russia investigation. (Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)
The FBI is expected to merchandise those documents successful the coming weeks.
As for the different peculiar counsels, Smith precocious had his ain infinitesimal successful the quality cycle.
FLASHBACK: DURHAM TESTIFIES THAT THE FBI IGNORED HILLARY CLINTON PLAN TO LINK TRUMP TO RUSSIA
FBI Director Kash Patel connected Thursday disbanded a nationalist corruption squad successful the bureau’s Washington tract office. That was the aforesaid bureau that aided Smith’s probe into Trump.
As for Weiss, aft the merchandise of the Biden audio tapes calling further into question the erstwhile president’s intelligence acuity, some, including Trump, are present calling for a reappraisal of the pardon of Hunter Biden.
David Weiss, inset; erstwhile President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden (Fox News)
Hunter Biden was recovered blameworthy of 3 felony firearm offenses stemming from Weiss’ investigation. The archetypal lad was besides charged with national taxation crimes regarding the nonaccomplishment to wage astatine slightest $1.4 cardinal successful taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a astonishment blameworthy plea. The charges carried up to 17 years down bars. His sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 16, 2024, but his father, then-President Biden, pardoned him connected each charges successful December 2024.
HUNTER BIDEN: A LOOK AT HOW THE SAGA SPANNING OVER 6 YEARS UNFOLDED
Trump alleged successful a Truth Social station successful March that erstwhile President Biden's pardons were "void" owed to the "fact that they were done by Autopen."
"The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and galore others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, due to the fact that of the information that they were done by Autopen," Trump wrote.
"In different words, Joe Biden did not motion them but, much importantly, helium did not cognize thing astir them! The indispensable Pardoning Documents were not explained to, oregon approved by, Biden. He knew thing astir them, and the radical that did whitethorn person committed a crime," Trump added.
Weiss, successful his last report, blasted then-President Biden's characterizations of the probe into Hunter Biden, which Weiss said were "wrong" and "unfairly" maligned Justice Department officials. He besides said the statesmanlike pardon made it "inappropriate" for him to sermon whether immoderate further charges against the archetypal lad were warranted.
Brooke Singman is simply a governmental analogous and newsman for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
English (US) ·