[Law & Crime] Top prosecutors in the so-called Durham probe into the origins of the Russigate investigation have reportedly found "no evidence" to support the foundational theory that spawned the investigation—namely, that Obamagate occurred and that Barack Obama himself needed to be punished for it.According to a New York Magazine story relying on anonymous sources "familiar with the probe," U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham has come up empty-handed and is growing increasingly frustrated with Attorney General Bill Barr over developments in the investigation—or, rather, the lack thereof.
Barr, for his part, has reportedly pressured Durham and his team for months over the investigation into the investigation—insisting that the prosecutor release the results before Election Day in an effort to use the full apparatus of the U.S. Department of Justice as a salve for President Donald Trump’s electoral woes.
And while Barr has often energized the president’s base with updates about the progress of the Durham investigation, he has also repeatedly disappointed the same base by not producing high-profile indictments.
"Under the longstanding standards of the department, criminal charges are appropriate only when we have enough evidence to prove each element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. That is the standard we’re applying," Barr said in late May when asked a question about potentially incriminating former President Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden.
The 77th and 85th attorney general also name-dropped the heads of the prior administration during that news conference.
"There is a difference between an abuse of power and a federal crime," Barr continued. "Not every abuse of power, no matter how outrageous, is a federal crime. As to President Obama and Vice-President Biden, whatever their level of involvement, based on the information I have today, I don’t expect Mr. Durham’s work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man. Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others."