US Special Counsel sees no grounds for investigating Trump-Moscow ties

There was no basis for a full FBI investigation into possible links between former US President Donald Trump and Russia during the 2016 election campaign. The report was presented by US Special Counsel John Durham, writes CNN.

“While Durham admits that the FBI did have a reason to start a background check or investigation, <...> contends that the FBI had no real evidence of collusion prior to the investigation,” the statement said.

According to Durham, the FBI relied on anecdotal evidence when it began its investigation because intelligence had no factual evidence pointing to collusion between Moscow and Trump. In addition, the FBI did not conduct the necessary interviews of witnesses or check its own databases before starting a full investigation, although the regulations require this.

After the release of the 300-page report, Trump commented on his social network Truth Social. “Wow! After extensive research, Special Counsel John Durham concluded that the FBI should not have launched an investigation. [о связях] Trump and Russia! – said in the message.

Trump was President of the United States from 2017 to 2021. After his victory in the election, the team of Special Counsel Robert Mueller launched an investigation into possible Russian interference.

In March 2019, US Attorney General and Attorney General William Barr introduced Congress the details of the Mueller report. His team concluded that there was no collusion between the headquarters of the former president and Moscow. At the same time, the United States concluded that the Russian authorities still tried to influence the elections: cyber attacks and the Internet Research Agency were used for this. Following this, Barr assigned Durham to look into the origins of the investigation.

Trump has previously repeatedly stated that his team had no collusion with the Russian authorities. On the contrary, according to the President of the United States, his opponents in the elections, the Democrats, had ties with Moscow. Trump advocated the publication of the Mueller report, saying that this step would allow the Americans to be convinced that the accusations against him and his team are groundless. The Russian side also denied ties with Trump and attempts to influence the course of the US elections.