Dan Abrams ‘Stunned’ by John Durham Statement on IG Report: ‘More Troubled Than Anything Else’ by This

Mediaite founder and ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams tore into U.S. Attorney John Durham for issuing an “astonishing” politicized statement about the Justice Department’s inspector general report, in which Durham said he does “not agree” with some of lG Michael Horowitz’s conclusions about the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.

Durham, who has been tasked with leading Attorney General Bill Barr’s own investigation into what started the FBI’s inquiry into Russian election tampering, suggested that his work with Barr is broader than Horowitz’s report.

“I have the utmost respect for the mission of the Office of Inspector General and the comprehensive work that went into the report prepared by Mr. Horowitz and his staff. However, our investigation is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department,” stated Durham. “Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S. Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened.”

During Tuesday’s airing of The Dan Abrams Show on SiriusXM, the legal analyst questioned Durham’s controversial public commentary about the Horowitz report.

“I was more troubled than anything else by the statement of John Durham,” said Abrams. “I keep hearing about Durham, I didn’t know much about him before. I keep hearing he’s a straight shooter, he’s a guy you can rely on, but that’s what I said about Barr coming into this.”

“Why would John Durham be weighing in? Why? The only possible reason is political,” he added. “From an investigative perspective, John Durham should continue his investigation, he should do what every other prosecutor does, which is put your head down when you’re ready to indict you make an announcement.”

“Why didn’t Robert Mueller specifically say that Donald Trump committed the crime of obstruction of justice? Because he felt it would be inappropriate since there was going to be no charges. John Durham is doing just the opposite, and I am stunned — stunned that Durham would make this kind of comment. That is not a statement whatsoever about what Durham will find, or won’t find, or how he’s going to deal with it, but what the heck is a U.S. attorney doing commenting on what he believes or doesn’t believe, what should or shouldn’t be an inspector general report. It should be the other way around, inspector generals should be commenting on how FBI agents, U.S. attorneys and others do their jobs. it is just astonishing.”

Durham’s inquiry into the Russia investigation is slated to conclude during the spring or summer of next year, according to Barr. The attorney general also suggested that the Durham’s investigation, which is he overseeing, has a wider scope than the IG report, saying that they are “looking at the whole waterfront.”

Listen above, via SiriusXM.

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