The FBI appears to have done lasting damage to its reputation through its failure to follow its own standards before opening an investigation into false allegations that former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia.
A Harvard-Harris poll conducted just days after special counsel John Durham released his final report on the FBI’s investigation of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign asked respondents if they were “surprised” by the fact that “the FBI violated its own standards in starting the Trump-Russia probe and became a funnel for disinformation from the Hillary Clinton campaign.”
THE LEFT'S LATEST EFFORT TO CONTROL THE COURT
Only 31% of those polled said they were surprised. Almost 70%, 69% to be exact, said they were not surprised the FBI “became a funnel for disinformation from the Hillary Clinton campaign.”
The Durham report’s 306 pages clearly establish how the Clinton campaign purposefully sought to create damaging information that would link Trump to Russian intelligence agents. These Clinton campaign efforts eventually became the Steele Dossier, a document full of disinformation that the Durham report says likely came from Russian intelligence.
In light of these facts, the Harvard-Harris poll asked if respondents were “concerned” about possible “interference by the FBI and intelligence agencies in a future presidential election.” A full 70% said they were concerned.
Asked further if they thought “wide-ranging reform” was needed “to prevent interference in elections by law enforcement and the intelligence community,” 71% said yes.
The public's loss of faith in the nonpartisan reputation of the FBI does not end there. Asked if they thought President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was “involved in illegal influence peddling and tax evasion,” 63% said yes. But then asked if the FBI was fully investigating Hunter’s business dealings, 55% said no, the FBI was not doing its job.
If the FBI wants to rehabilitate its reputation, it should fully cooperate with congressional investigations into the Trump investigation, and Attorney General Merrick Garland should appoint a special prosecutor for the Hunter Biden case.