Trump Claim Of ‘Crime Of Century’ Fizzles In 3‑year Probe

By Eric Tucker

Former President Donald Trump once pre­dict­ed that a spe­cial pros­e­cu­tor appoint­ed dur­ing his admin­is­tra­tion would uncov­er “the crime of the cen­tu­ry” — a con­spir­a­cy to sink his 2016 campaign.

Yet here are the results of the three-year probe by pros­e­cu­tor John Durham: two tri­al acquit­tals — the lat­est on Tuesday — and a for­mer FBI attor­ney sen­tenced to probation.

That has fall­en far short of Trump sup­port­ers’ expec­ta­tions that Durham would reveal a “deep state” plot behind the U.S. government’s inves­ti­ga­tion into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 pres­i­den­tial campaign.

The out­come has led to scruti­ny over the pur­pose of Durham’s appoint­ment by for­mer Attorney General William Barr, who tasked him with suss­ing out mis­con­duct in the Trump-Russia probe. It also has raised ques­tions about whether or when the cur­rent attor­ney gen­er­al, Merrick Garland, might move to rein in Durham’s work or has­ten its completion.

“You real­ly mea­sure the suc­cess of an inves­ti­ga­tion by what it uncov­ers in terms of per­ni­cious activ­i­ty, and he’s uncov­ered noth­ing,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law pro­fes­sor and for­mer senior Justice Department official.

Read the full sto­ry here: https://​news​.yahoo​.com/​t​r​u​m​p​-​c​l​a​i​m​-​c​r​i​m​e​-​c​e​n​t​u​r​y​-​f​i​z​z​l​e​s​-​2​0​4​7​2​7​9​2​0​.​h​tml