Wednesday during a contentious session on Capitol Hill, special counsel John Durham responded more effectively than many House Democrats.

Durham testified before the House Judiciary Committee on a lengthy report he produced earlier this spring that detailed his findings into the genesis of the alleged “Trump-Russia collusion” claim, which was officially known as “Crossfire Hurricane” by the FBI.

At one point, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) questioned Durham, causing the conversation to become contentious.

SCHIFF: “You also sought to get the Inspector General to change his conclusion…”

DURHAM: “If you wanna go there, we asked the Inspector General to take a look at the intelligence…”

SCHIFF: “You thought it was appropriate for you to intervene…?!”

DURHAM: “[Your] premise isn’t right.”

SCHIFF: "You also sought to get the Inspector General to change his conclusion…"

DURHAM: "If you wanna go there, we asked the Inspector General to take a look at the intelligence…"

SCHIFF: "You thought it was appropriate for you to intervene…?!"

DURHAM: "[Your] premise… pic.twitter.com/BxiMscgkd5

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 21, 2023

Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, a fellow Democrat on the panel, and Durham engaged in another heated argument after the special counsel stated that the evidence he uncovered exonerated then-President Donald Trump of any “collusion” allegations and criticized the FBI for initiating an investigation without a solid basis.

“I’ve tried to follow your report. Mr. Donald Trump, Jr. would’ve called it a nothing burger. You got no convictions, you got nothing! It was all set up to hurt the Mueller report – which was correct and was redacted – to hurt the Bidens and to help Trump,” Cohen said.

“And you were a part of it. You have a good reputation. You had a good reputation, that’s why the two Democrats supported you. But the longer you hold onto Mr. Barr and this report that Mr. Barr gave you as special counsel, your reputation will be damaged, as everybody’s reputation who gets involved with Donald Trump is damaged,” he lectured.

“He’s damaged goods, there’s no good dealing with him cause you will end up on the bottom of a pyre,” Cohen added.

In response, Durham said: “Yeah, my concern about my reputation is with the people who I respect, my family, and my Lord, and I’m perfectly comfortable with my reputation with them, sir!” Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) then authorized Durham to continue.

“Well said, God bless you,” Jordan responded.

Schiff frequently asserted that he had evidence that the former president had conspired with Russia to undermine the 2016 presidential election during his administration and afterward. However, numerous investigations into the claims yielded no such evidence. Due to the false allegations, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) removed Schiff from the Intelligence Committee.

More on this story via The Republic Brief:

Durham discovered that the FBI began looking into Trump before the 2016 election using “uncorroborated intelligence” and that agents consistently failed to uphold “strict fidelity to the law” throughout the investigation. CONTINUE READING…