Mention of special counsel John Durham's report on his investigation into the FBI officials who looked into Donald Trump's relationship with the Russians will likely fade away after his disastrous appearance before the House Judiciary Committee this week where he withered under intense questioning by Democratic lawmakers.
That is the opinion of MSNBC's Hayes Brown who admitted he was startled that Durham appeared to be "shocking unprepared" to justify the time and money invested in his inquiry that led to no criminal convictions.
Continuing in a long line of "weaponization" committee hearings called by Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) that have turned up no major revelations and have been widely derided, Brown said Durham and the Republicans on the committee failed to create one sound bite to which Trump or conservative news outlets could point to further their cause.
As Brown notes, the failure of Durham to score any points during his testimony, combined with his investigation failing to justify itself, means he is of no use to Donald Trump going forward.
"In the end, Wednesday’s hearing offered little fodder for sound bites to rile up the GOP base," Brown wrote before adding, "Durham even rejected the idea that Republicans should move to defund the Justice Department and the FBI. And his willingness to admit that there was Russian interference in 2016 means that he has likely outlived his usefulness to Trump."
Add to that, he noted, the fact that MAGA-diehard, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) expressed his displeasure with Durham while accusing him of being "part of the cover-up" will make him a footnote during any Trump defense.
"He surely will remain a touchstone for those who never read a word he wrote but are sure that he fully vindicated Trump in the process. For the MAGA movement, John Durham was always more useful as a vessel for whatever conspiracy needed a kernel of truth than as an actual investigator," he concluded.
You can read more here.
