MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace: Durham Report Is Just a “Rabbit Hole Conspiracy” Theory

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace has dismissed the report from Special Counsel John Durham investigating the FBI’s original probe into the collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign as a “rabbit hole conspiracy.”

On Monday, Durham released his final report, which casts doubt about the FBI’s full investigation into connections between Trump’s campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.

MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House” discussed the report, where Durham found the investigation marred by a “lack of analytical rigor, apparent confirmation bias, and an over-willingness to rely on information from individuals connected to political opponents.”

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But a panel including former FBI agent Frank Figliuzzi and former attorney for the Mueller investigation Andrew Weissman said the Durham report was based on “conspiracy.”

“Durham’s whole thing is predicated on it’s like a rabbit hole conspiracy that suggests that the Trump-Barr paranoia infected his ability to stand back and evaluate whether the probe yielded guilty convictions of people who would have had nothing to do with any of these questions he looked at,” Nicolle Wallace said of the Durham report.

“It is a view from so far down the rabbit hole that what needs some oversight is what Mr. Durham did for four years that repelled his long-time prosecutorial partner, Nora Dennehy, and other high-level DOJ prosecutors.”

Figliuzzi went further, arguing that Durham “failed miserably” in his report and was influenced by an “agenda.”

“John Durham, once highly respected hard-nosed prosecutor and someone I worked for eons ago as an intern when I was in law school, has twisted himself into a pretzel in an attempt to deliver what he could not deliver,” Figliuzzi said.

“If the goal was to wrack up many indictments and prove all of this Russia, Russia, Russia stuff as Trump says wrong, he’s failed miserably,” Figliuzzi added.

He continued:

“John Durham should be exhibit A in the so-called weaponization of government subcommittee because he was weaponized by Bill Barr and turned against the very institutions that he comes out of.”

Weissman concurred, claiming that the Durham report failed to disprove that Russia influenced the 2016 election, adding that any comparison between Republicans and Democrats is a “false equivalency.”

“So I just think the big picture if you step back is, for those people who think oh, everybody does it, the Democrats do it, Republicans do it, everybody is up to no good and shenanigans, there really is just – that’s not true,” Weissman said.

There is a false equivalency because you have an enormous number of cases which were proved where you pointed out convictions, where there is a there, there,” Weissman continued.

He added:

“Russia interfered in the 2016 election and continues to interfere. There are people who have gone to jail who are rightly found guilty, and what you have with John Durham is a big fat nothing, and it reminds me of sort of weaponization hearings that are going on where there also is, they’re just falling flat on their faces because there is no there there.”

With regard to the e FBI and Department of Justice’s failure to adequately investigate the matter, the report said:

“Although recognizing that in hindsight much is clearer, much of this also seems to have been clear at the time. We, therefore, believe it is important to examine past conduct to identify shortcomings and improve how the government carries out its most sensitive functions.”

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