John Durham

For other people named John Durham, see John Durham (disambiguation).

John Henry Durham (born March 16, 1950)^[3][4][5] is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut (D. Conn.) from 2018 to 2021. By April 2019, the Trump administration assigned him to investigate the origins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, and in October 2020 he was appointed special counsel for the Department of Justice on that matter.

John Durham
Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice
In office October 19, 2020 – May 15, 2023
Appointed by	William Barr
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut
In office October 28, 2017 – February 28, 2021 Acting until February 22, 2018
President	Donald Trump Joe Biden
Preceded by	Deirdre M. Daly
Succeeded by	Leonard C. Boyle (acting)
Acting January 20, 1997 – June 30, 1998
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Christopher F. Droney^[1]
Succeeded by	Stephen C. Robinson
Personal details
Born	John Henry Durham (1950-03-16) March 16, 1950 (age 73) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Republican^[2]
Education	Colgate University (BA) University of Connecticut (JD)
Awards	Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service

He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in various positions in D.C. for 35 years.^[6] He is known for his role as special prosecutor in the 2005 destruction of interrogation tapes created by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), during which he decided not to file any criminal charges related to the destruction of tapes of torture at a CIA facility.^[3]

By April 2019, U.S. Attorney General William Barr had tasked Durham with overseeing a review of the origins of the Russia investigation and to determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was "lawful and appropriate".^[7][8] Barr disclosed in December 2020 that he had elevated Durham's status to special counsel in October 2020, ensuring that the Durham special counsel investigation could continue after the Trump administration ended.^[9][10] After 31⁄2 years of investigation and prosecutions, Durham had secured one guilty plea and a probation sentence for a charge unrelated to the origins of the Russia investigation, and two unsuccessful trial prosecutions. Durham alleged at the two trials that the FBI had been deceived by the defendants.

Early life and education

Durham was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1975.^[3][11] After graduation, he was a VISTA volunteer for two years (1975–1977) on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana.^[12]

Career

Connecticut state government

After Durham's volunteer work, he became a state prosecutor in Connecticut. From 1977 to 1978, he served as a Deputy Assistant State's Attorney in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney. From 1978 to 1982, Durham served as an Assistant State's Attorney in the New Haven State's Attorney's Office.^[12]

Federal government

Following those five years as a state prosecutor, Durham became a federal prosecutor, joining the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.^[11] From 1982 to 1989, he served as an attorney and then supervisor in the New Haven Field Office of the Boston Strike Force in the Justice Department's Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. From 1989 to 1994, he served as Chief of the Office's Criminal Division. From 1994 to 2008, he served as the Deputy U.S. Attorney, and served as the U.S. Attorney in an acting and interim capacity in 1997 and 1998.^[12][13]

In December 2000, Durham revealed secret Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documents that convinced a judge to vacate the 1968 murder convictions of Enrico Tameleo, Joseph Salvati, Peter J. Limone and Louis Greco because they had been framed by the agency. In 2007, the documents helped Salvati, Limone, and the families of the two other men, who had died in prison, win a $101.7 million civil judgment against the government.^[14]

In 2008, Durham led an inquiry into allegations that FBI agents and Boston Police had ties with the Mafia.^[15] He also led a series of high-profile prosecutions in Connecticut against the New England Mafia and corrupt politicians, including former Governor John G. Rowland.^[14]

From 2008 to 2012, Durham served as the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.^[12]

On November 1, 2017, he was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.^[16] On February 16, 2018, his nomination was confirmed by voice vote of the Senate. He was sworn in on February 22, 2018.^[12]

In May 2019, William Barr chose Durham to lead a probe into the origins of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation and the Mueller special counsel investigation.^[17] On October 19, 2020, Barr appointed Durham Special Counsel to lead the Durham special counsel investigation in an effort to ensure the investigation continued after the Trump administration ended.^[18][19]

Durham resigned as U.S. Attorney effective February 28, 2021.^[6] He was one of 56 remaining Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys President Joe Biden asked to resign in February 2021.^[20] He remained as Special Counsel until May 2023.^[21][20]

Appointments as special investigator

Whitey Bulger case

Amid allegations that FBI informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi had corrupted their handlers, US Attorney General Janet Reno named Durham special prosecutor in 1999. He oversaw a task force of FBI agents brought in from other offices to investigate the Boston office's handling of informants.^[14] In 2002, Durham helped secure the conviction of retired FBI agent John J. Connolly Jr., who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal racketeering charges for protecting Bulger and Flemmi from prosecution and warning Bulger to flee just before the gangster's 1995 indictment.^[14] Durham's task force also gathered evidence against retired FBI agent H. Paul Rico, who was indicted in Oklahoma on state charges that he helped Bulger and Flemmi kill a Tulsa businessman in 1981. Rico died in 2004 before the case went to trial.^[14]

CIA interrogation tapes destruction

In 2008, Durham was appointed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations.^[22][23][24] On November 8, 2010, Durham closed the investigation without recommending any criminal charges be filed.^[25] Durham's final report remains secret but was the subject of an unsuccessful lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act filed by The New York Times reporter Charlie Savage.^[26]

Torture investigation

In August 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Durham to lead the Justice Department's investigation of the legality of CIA's use of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" in the torture of detainees.^[27] Durham's mandate was to look at only those interrogations that had gone "beyond the officially sanctioned guidelines", with Holder saying interrogators who had acted in "good faith" based on the guidance found in the Torture Memos issued by the Bush Justice Department were not to be prosecuted.^[28] Later in 2009, University of Toledo law professor Benjamin G. Davis attended a conference where former officials of the Bush administration had told conference participants shocking stories, and accounts of illegality on the part of more senior Bush officials.^[29] Davis wrote an appeal to former Bush administration officials to take their accounts of illegality directly to Durham. A criminal investigation into the deaths of two detainees, Gul Rahman in Afghanistan and Manadel al-Jamadi in Iraq, was opened in 2011. It was closed in 2012 with no charges filed.^[30][31]

Special counsel to review origins of Trump-Russia investigation

Main article: Durham special counsel investigation

Beginning in 2017, Trump and his allies alleged that the FBI investigation (known as Crossfire Hurricane) of possible contacts between his associates and Russian officials (which led to the Mueller investigation) was a "hoax" or "witch hunt" that was baselessly initiated by his political enemies. In April 2019, Attorney General William Barr announced that he had launched a review of the origins of the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections^[32][33] and it was reported in May that he had assigned Durham to lead it several weeks earlier.^[7] Durham was given the authority "to broadly examin[e] the government's collection of intelligence involving the Trump campaign's interactions with Russians," reviewing government documents and requesting voluntary witness statements.^[7] In December 2020, Barr revealed to Congress that he had appointed Durham to lead the Durham special counsel investigation on October 19.^[19] He stayed on in this capacity after he resigned as U.S. Attorney.^[20] By September 2022, the costs of his investigation had climbed to $6.5 million since assuming the role of special counsel.^[34]

After a three-and-a-half-year investigation, Durham indicted three men. One of them, whose misconduct had been uncovered by the DOJ Inspector General's 2019 review of the FBI investigation, pleaded guilty to a charge unrelated to the origins of the FBI investigation and was sentenced to probation. The other two, a Clinton campaign lawyer and a Russian-American analyst, were tried for lying to the FBI and acquitted.^[35][36] In both trials, Durham alleged the defendants had deceived the FBI, rather than alleging the FBI acted improperly toward Trump.^[37][38]

On May 12, 2023, Durham submitted his final report to Barr's successor Merrick Garland.^{[39][40][35][36]} On May 15, 2023, Garland released the unclassified report "in full as submitted to me, without any additions, redactions, or other modifications”.^[41] The report criticized the FBI for problems in its investigation, which had also been uncovered by the 2019 IG review, but did not state that the investigation had violated any rule,^[35][36] concluding that the FBI should have launched a preliminary instead of a full investigation into ties between Trump and Russia.^[42] The New York Times wrote that the report "largely consisted of recycled material, interlaced with conclusions like Mr. Durham's accusation that the F.B.I. had displayed a 'lack of analytical rigor'".^[36]

Awards and accolades

In 2011, Durham was included on The New Republic's list of Washington's most powerful, least famous people.^[43]

In 2004, Durham was decorated with the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service and, in 2012, with the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service.^[44][45]

Personal life

Mr. Durham is a staunch Catholic.^[46] According to CNN, Durham is "press-shy" and is known for his tendency to avoid the media.^[47] United States Attorney Deirdre Daly once described him as "tireless, fair and aggressive" while United States Senator Chris Murphy characterized him as "tough-nosed ... apolitical and serious".^[47]

See also

• Mueller report
• Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
• Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (2019)
• Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (2020–2021)
• Trump–Ukraine scandal

References

1. "About the Office". justice.gov. March 18, 2015.
2. Mahony, Edmund H. (October 27, 2017). "John Durham Named Interim U.S. Attorney; Presidential Nomination Expected". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
3. Lewis, Neil A. (January 13, 2008). "Prosecutor Who Unraveled Corruption in Boston Turns to C.I.A. Tape Case". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
4. "Committee Questionnaire" (PDF).
5. Ford, Lois Mitchell (1979). Descendants of David Mitchell of Burnton, Laurencekirk, Kincardineshire, Scotland.
6. "U.S. Attorney For Connecticut John Durham Resigns". NBC Connecticut. February 26, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
7. Savage, Charlie; Goldman, Adam; Fandos, Nicholas (May 14, 2019). "Scrutiny of Russia Investigation Is Said to Be a Review, Not a Criminal Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
8. Balsamo, Michael (May 14, 2019). "AP source: Barr launches new look at origins of Russia probe". Associated Press. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
9. Tucker, Eric; Balsamo, Michael (December 1, 2020). "Barr appoints special counsel in Russia probe investigation". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
10. Balsamo, Michael (February 27, 2021). "Durham remains special counsel overseeing Trump-Russia probe". Associated Press. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
11. James, Randy (August 26, 2009). "CIA Abuse Investigator John Durham". Time. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
12. "John H. Durham Sworn in as United States Attorney". United States Department of Justice. February 22, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
13. McBride, Jessica (May 14, 2019). "John H. Durham: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
14. Murphy, Shelley (January 7, 2008). "US prosecutor's tenacity is rewarded". Boston.com. (subscription required)
15. Politi, Daniel (January 3, 2008). "The Jump Off". Slate. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
16. Mahony, Edmund H. (November 1, 2017). "President Trump Nominates John Durham To Be U.S. Attorney". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
17. Polantz, Katelyn (December 1, 2020). "Barr appoints John Durham as special counsel investigating 2016 presidential campaign investigators | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
18. "Barr appoints special counsel in Russia probe investigation". AP NEWS. April 20, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
19. Savage, Charlie (December 1, 2020). "Barr Makes Durham a Special Counsel in a Bid to Entrench Scrutiny of the Russia Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
20. Balsamo, Michael (April 28, 2021). "Justice Dept. seeks resignations of Trump-era US attorneys". Associated Press. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
21. Savage, Charlie (January 12, 2023). "What Is a Special Counsel and What Can They Do?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
22. Shapiro, Lila (August 24, 2009). "'Inhumane' CIA Terror Tactics Spur Criminal Probe". The Huffington Post.
23. Mikkelsen, Randall (January 2, 2008). "U.S. launches criminal probe into CIA tapes". Reuters. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
24. Apuzzo, Matt (January 3, 2008). "Veteran prosecutor takes over CIA probe". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
25. Mazzetti, Mark; Savage, Charlie (November 9, 2010). "No Criminal Charges Sought Over C.I.A. Tapes". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
26. Savage, Charlie (May 10, 2018). "Gina Haspel's Testimony About C.I.A. Torture Raises New Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2018. Mr. Rodriguez and Ms. Haspel were later investigated by John Durham, an assistant United States attorney. Mr. Durham ultimately recommended filing no charges over the tape destruction, but his report laying out his findings and reasoning is secret. (The New York Times lost a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to make it public.)
27. Johnson, Carrie (August 25, 2009). "Holder Hires Prosecutor to Look Into Alleged CIA Interrogation Abuses". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
28. Serwer, Adam (August 31, 2012). "Investigation of Bush-era Torture Concludes With No Charges". Mother Jones. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
29. Davis, Benjamin G. (September 25, 2009). "Torture Tales: Calling John Durham". JURIST. from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
30. Shane, Scott (August 30, 2012). "Holder Rules Out Prosecutions in C.I.A. Interrogations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
31. "Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on Closure of Investigation into the Interrogation of Certain Detainees". justice.gov. August 30, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
32. Johnson, Kevin (May 14, 2019). "Attorney General taps top Connecticut federal prosecutor for review of Trump-Russia inquiry". USA Today. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
33. Goldman, Adam; Savage, Charlie; Schmidt, Michael S. (May 13, 2019). "Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
34. Rabinowitz, Hannah (December 23, 2022). "Special counsel Durham has spent at least $6.5 million on inquiry into Trump-Russia probe". CNN.
35. Tucker, Eric; Whitehurst, Lindsay (May 16, 2023). "Special prosecutor ends Trump-Russia investigation, saying FBI acted hastily". Associated Press. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
36. Savage, Charlie (May 17, 2023). "After Years of Political Hype, the Durham Inquiry Failed to Deliver". The New York Times. from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
37. Cohen, Marshall (October 18, 2022). "Primary source for Trump-Russia dossier acquitted, handing special counsel Durham another trial loss". CNN.
38. Rizzo, Salvador; Weiner, Rachel; Stein, Perry. "Steele dossier source acquitted, in loss for special counsel Durham". The Washington Post.
39. "Letter to Chairman Durbin, Chairman Jordan, Senator Graham, and Representative Nadler" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
40. "Report on Matters Related to Intelligence Activities and Investigations Arising Out of the 2016 Presidential Campaigns" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. May 12, 2023. (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
41. Cohen, Zachary; Cole, Devan; Sneed, Tierney; Perez, Evan; Rabinowitz, Hannah; Herb, Jeremy; Cohen, Marshall (May 16, 2023). "Special counsel John Durham concludes FBI never should have launched full Trump-Russia probe". CNN. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
42. Hodgman, Lucy (June 21, 2023). "Democrats and Republicans clash over Durham testimony on FBI report". Politico. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
43. "Washington's Most Powerful, Least Famous People". The New Republic. November 3, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
44. "Attorney General Holder Recognizes Department Employees and Others for Their Service at Annual Awards Ceremony". justice.gov (Press release). U.S. Department of Justice. October 17, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
45. Gura, David (August 24, 2009). "So, Who Is John Durham?". NPR. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
46. Williamson, Elizabeth (December 23, 2019). "Durham Surprises Even Allies With Statement on F.B.I.'s Trump Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
47. Cohen, Marshall (May 14, 2019). "US attorney's 'apolitical' reputation on the line as he helps Barr review the Russia probe". CNN. Retrieved September 16, 2021.

External links