U.S. Attorney John Durham, the prosecutor leading a high-profile probe into the origin of the Russia-Trump collusion claims, told DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz there is no evidence that the Maltese academic who met with Russian officials and with George Papadopoulos was a U.S. intelligence asset working to tarnish the president, reports The Washington Post.
Joseph Misfud was a central figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. His conversation with Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign aide, set in motion the FBI probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The Post report is key in that it stunts conservative theories that the FBI case was a setup by American intelligence agencies.
Attorney General William Barr in May said officials’ statements about the origins of the investigation “are just not jiving” with information he had learned during his short stint in office.
“I assumed I’d get answers when I went in and I have not gotten answers that are well satisfactory, and in fact probably have more questions,” Barr said in an interview with CBS News, adding that “some of the facts that … I’ve learned don’t hang together with the official explanations of what happened.”
DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec in a statement to the Post said Horowitz’ investigation is a “credit to the Justice Department.”
“His excellent work has uncovered significant information that the American people will soon be able to read for themselves,” Kupec said. “Rather than speculating, people should read the report for themselves next week, watch the Inspector General’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and draw their own conclusions about these important matters.”
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