Activity within the Justice Department indicates U.S. Attorney John Durham is working to bring the first indictments as part of a criminal investigation into the Russia inquiry, according to investigative journalist John Solomon.
Solomon, a controversial reporter who similarly reported criminal investigative activity related to Durham’s efforts months ago, told Fox Business host Lou Dobbs on Tuesday that people are frustrated by the wait, asserting there already is “overwhelming evidence in the public record” that crimes were committed during the Russia investigation.
Solomon, who is now the editor in chief of Just the News, faced criticism last year when his reporting on Ukraine for the Hill got swept up into the impeachment investigation of President Trump and became subject to a review that found he “failed” to identify “important details about key Ukrainian sources.” Still, even as the tilt of Solomon’s reporting has come into question, he does still boast insider knowledge at the Justice Department that has been borne out.
“My sources tell me there’s a lot of activity. I’m seeing, personally, activity behind the scenes of the Justice Department,” Solomon said on Tuesday, adding that Durham’s team “is trying to bring those first indictments, and I would look for a time around Labor Day to see the first sort of action by the Justice Department.”
Solomon insisted that he is “seeing a lot of activity consistent with building prosecutions and preparing for criminal plea bargains,” but also acknowledged that none of this may lead to anything.
“That doesn’t mean it’ll happen,” Solomon said. “Until someone signs and until they bring them before the grand jury. You never know if it’s going to happen.”
Solomon said he is hearing from defense lawyers and people “on the prosecution side” that complications with the coronavirus pandemic are “slowing down” the grand jury process.
“But everything I’m seeing on the ground, real reporting, suggests that there’s an ongoing criminal investigation intent on bringing indictments and possibly some plea bargains. The first action, the first evidence of it in the public will probably be around Labor Day. That’s an awful long time to wait, but I do see activity that looks like they’re building a criminal case right now,” he said.
Little is known about Durham’s investigation into misconduct by federal law enforcement and intelligence officials during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation that was later wrapped into special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. The only time Durham has spoken out about the inquiry is when he released a statement in December disputing DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s conclusion that the opening of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation in the summer of 2016 was properly predicated.
Only a few media reports have been published over the past year offering a keyhole view into the Connecticut federal prosecutor’s work, including that one former FBI lawyer who altered a document related to the surveillance of a 2016 Trump campaign adviser had come under criminal investigation.
Attorney General William Barr, who is facing increasing scrutiny from Democrats concerned about the alleged politicization of the Justice Department, recently told Fox News he anticipates “developments” in Durham’s investigation by the end of the summer.
Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News late last month that it is a “good sign” that there are so few leaks coming out of Durham’s investigation.
