Kash Patel Breaks Down the Durham Report

Kash Patel Breaks Down the Durham Report
Special counsel John Durham arrives at federal court in Washington on May 18, 2022. (Teng Chen for The Epoch Times)
Jan Jekielek
5/20/2023
Updated:
5/20/2023
0:00
Former Trump administration aide and Justice Department (DOJ) official Kash Patel gave his reaction to the released Durham Report on Friday’s episode of Kash’s Corner on EpochTV. Patel’s assertions challenge the actions of the Hillary Clinton campaign, DOJ, and FBI, leading to intense debate and raising serious questions about the integrity of these institutions.
According to Patel, the initial stage of the report reveals that the Clinton campaign engaged in fabricated information as part of their opposition research against then-candidate Donald Trump. He argued that once Trump won the election, the DOJ and FBI effectively continued where the campaign had left off.
“The first stage is actually Clinton campaign, you know, oppo research ... it was all fabricated,” he said. “Then the second part is where DOJ and FBI basically pick up where the campaign left off once Trump wins.”
Patel highlighted the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant obtained specifically for Carter Page, a Trump campaign adviser. While the warrant targeted Page, its “one-hop” provision potentially allowed for surveillance of the entire campaign. 
“The FISA warrant was for basically a Trump campaign participant Carter Page specifically, not Trump himself, and what that allowed because of the nature of these FISA warrants, it allowed kind of one hop away,” Patel explained. “So basically, there was surveillance on the entire campaign.”
Carter Page, petroleum industry consultant and former foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential election campaign, in Washington on May 28, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
Carter Page, petroleum industry consultant and former foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential election campaign, in Washington on May 28, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
Moreover, Patel asserted that the FBI and DOJ acted as the Russian assets ahead of the 2016 election—referring to a claim that challenges the once-prevailing narrative surrounding the Trump–Russia collusion allegations.
“Turns out the only Russian assets were the FBI and the DOJ,” Patel said. ”The underpinnings of this report are devastating to the FBI and DOJ.”
The former DOJ official went on to criticize Special Counsel John Durham’s refusal to bring in the FBI director and deputy director, who played instrumental roles in launching the investigation and signing what Patel refers to as “bogus warrants.” This omission raises questions about the thoroughness and impartiality of Durham’s inquiry.
“They didn’t have those facts because the DOJ and FBI lied, broke the law, violated their oath of office, and submitted fraudulent information they knew to be false,” Patel said. However, the former DoJ official is not optimistic that justice will be served.
There is no justification for Durham’s alleged inability to utilize the grand jury process and subpoena individuals, according to Patel. He dismissed Durham’s claim of not knowing how to perform these procedures, insisting that it is inaccurate and untenable.
Special counsel John Durham arrives at federal court in Washington on May 18, 2022. (Teng Chen for The Epoch Times)
Special counsel John Durham arrives at federal court in Washington on May 18, 2022. (Teng Chen for The Epoch Times)
“For him to come out and say, ‘I just didn’t know how to do that.’ Now, that doesn’t work. That’s not accurate. There’s no way he doesn’t know how to use the grand jury process and subpoena individuals,” Patel asserted.
Moreover, Patel accused high-ranking officials, including former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, and former FBI Director James Comey as well as current officials like FBI Director Chris Ray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, of prioritizing the protection of their institutions over affecting necessary reforms. 
“The two-tier system of justice today continues because John Durham failed.”