Governor DeSantis slams feds over Durham report, accusing them of 'false conspiracy theory’ against Trump

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivered a scathing critique on Monday, taking aim at federal law enforcement officials who participated in the 2016 FBI investigation into supposed Trump-Russia collusion. He accused them of fabricating a "false conspiracy theory" to subvert Trump.

DeSantis' pointed remarks come in the wake of special counsel John Durham's comprehensive 306-page report on the investigation's origins. The report concluded that the FBI lacked any substantial evidence to warrant initiating the investigation, further highlighting "sobering" disparities in how the FBI managed the Trump probe compared to other politically sensitive inquiries.

In response to the Durham Report, DeSantis took to Twitter, saying, "The Durham Report confirmed what we already knew: weaponized federal agencies manufactured a false conspiracy theory about Trump-Russia collusion. It reminds us of the need to clean house at these agencies, as they’ve never been held accountable for this egregious abuse of power.”

The Durham Report confirmed what we already knew: weaponized federal agencies manufactured a false conspiracy theory about Trump-Russia collusion. It reminds us of the need to clean house at these agencies, as they've never been held accountable for this egregious abuse of power.

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) May 15, 2023

During his tenure as the representative for Florida's 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, DeSantis was already pressing for accountability. In 2018, he penned a letter to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray, urging them to criminally prosecute many of those involved in the investigation.

DeSantis advocated for criminal inquiries into several high-profile figures, including former FBI Director James Comey, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former Acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe, FBI Agent Peter Strzok, and FBI Counsel Lisa Page.

As reported by Politico, DeSantis' letter accused Comey of leaking classified information, Clinton of concealing campaign payments to the firm behind the now-debunked Steele dossier, and Lynch of threatening a potential whistleblower on Clinton. DeSantis was recognized as one of "Trump’s closest allies in Congress."

Endorsed by ten other Congress members, DeSantis' letter also spotlighted federal law enforcement's actions concerning former Trump aide Carter Page. The letter raised questions about the Steele dossier and its presentation of potentially false or unverified information to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, particularly regarding the warrant application to surveil Carter Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Those responsible for signing the warrant application containing possibly unverified or false information were referred to the Department of Justice for potential violations.