Attorney General William Barr was convinced he could deliver one hell of an “October surprise” that would not only discredit the Russia investigation but also help his boss get another term in office.
But what transpired Friday afternoon proves that Barr and Trump’s plans are now in tatters, and the president is more vulnerable than ever before.
Nora Dannehy, a federal prosecutor and top aide to U.S. Attorney John Durhman, who is conducting an investigation of possible wrongdoing in the Russia probe led by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, resigned abruptly this afternoon, and The Hartford Courant explains why she decided to leave:
“Federal prosecutor Nora Dannehy, a top aide to U.S. Attorney John H. Durham in his Russia investigation, has quietly resigned – 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.
“Durham recruited Dannehy to join his team after he was appointed by Attorney General William Barr more than a year and a half ago to examine the the FBI’s legal justification for a disputed counterintelligence investigation that looked for ties between President Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian efforts to meddle in the election.”
Who would be pressing for a report ASAP? Barr, of course. After all, he’s the one who appointed Durham and gave him his marching orders to find something that could be used to boost Trump in the closing days of the 2020 election.
It didn’t take long before legal experts began weighing in on the latest developments in the Durham probe, and they also agreed Dannehy’s sudden resignation is proof the Durham probe is purely political:
Really big. Nora Dannehy is an incredibly well-respected prosecutor – not the type of person who would take this step for no reason. https://t.co/Oc4y2Foiv0
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) September 11, 2020
🚨🚨
Canary in coal mine dead.Looks like profound corruption in Barr-Durham probe—attempted October surprise.
Top Durham aide, Nora Dannehy resigns partly because “team is being pressed for political reasons to produce a report before its work is done”!https://t.co/JvXtU8k4bY
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) September 11, 2020
Here we go folks. Please remember that, whatever Durham does or does not find, Bill Barr will “spin”, “mischaracterize” & lie about, just as Federal Judge Reggie Walton concluded regarding Barr’s lies about the Mueller report. Our eyes are open to Barr’s nefarious game. https://t.co/knyInHkecM
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) September 11, 2020
Let there be no doubt: Barr is pushing the Durham probe to gift Trump an October surprise. https://t.co/tYOgFOmlN2
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) September 11, 2020
Oh, and one other thing to keep in mind: Now that Dannehy has resigned, she can testify before Congress and will likely be called by the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees to do exactly that.
Everything is falling apart for Trump and his ladpdog attorney general.