Top Aide To Durham Russia Investigation Quits Because Barr Is Trying Rush Report

The top aide to John Durham’s Russia investigation has resigned due to concerns that Trump is trying to rush the release of the report before Election Day.

The Hartford Courant reported:

Federal prosecutor Nora Dannehy, a top aide to U.S. Attorney John H. Durham in his Russia investigation, has quietly resigned from the U.S. Justice Department probe – at least partly out of concern that the investigative team is being pressed for political reasons to produce a report before its work is done, colleagues said.

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Colleagues said Dannehy is not a supporter of President Donald J. Trump and has been concerned in recent weeks by what she believed was pressure from Barr – who appointed Durham – to produce results before the election. They said she has been considering resignation for weeks, conflicted by loyalty to Durham and concern about politics.

Durham is notoriously circumspect and neither he nor members of his team have revealed anything about the direction of their work. But Durham associates, none of whom have specific knowledge of the investigation, have said recently that it is their belief he is under pressure to produce something – perhaps some sort of report – before the presidential election in November.

The newspaper also said that Durham and his allies expect the investigation to be abandoned if Trump loses the election, which was a clear suggestion that the purpose of the investigation, at least from the point of view of William Barr, is to help Donald Trump win a second term.

Trump and Barr have been counting on the Durham report to discredit Russian election interference, and validate Trump’s many claims that his campaign was spied on and that the FBI was out to get him.

The resignation of Durham’s top aide suggested that there is reason to be concerned about the political pressures coming from the Attorney General to use the Department of Justice to help Donald Trump. Barr wants to use a Durham report as a smokescreen for Russian election interference, but there will no “October surprise” if there is no report.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association