Former Rep. Trey Gowdy said on Sunday he suspects there will not be any further indictments arising from U.S. Attorney John Durham’s criminal inquiry into the Russia investigation.
Less than two months from Election Day, Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo noted there is some concern that the federal prosecutor is “dragging his feet” after only securing his first plea deal with a former FBI lawyer last month.
Gowdy, who is a former federal prosecutor, said he believes Durham will write a report that will be the “definitive accounting” of what happened during the Russia investigation but was less cavalier about there being any more prosecutions.
“Whether or not there will be more indictments or not, Maria, I don’t know, and I like to assume that there will not be. And I know that that puts me in a small minority, but I’m assuming that the Clinesmith indictment will be the only one,” he said during a Fox News interview on Sunday Morning Futures.
The former FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, pleaded guilty to a false statements charge for fraudulently altering a CIA email during the process of the bureau seeking a court’s permission to renew an order to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser.
In what has been dubbed the “Obamagate” controversy, President Trump’s supporters believe top officials in the Obama administration sought to sabotage Trump’s candidacy in 2016 and later his presidency, and many of them have called for indictments. Democrats and some national security veterans have raised concerns about the public release of Durham’s findings or indictments during the run-up to the election and have warned of a possible politicized “October surprise.”
During an appearance on CNN last week, Attorney General William Barr, who appointed Durham to review the Russia investigation, insisted the prosecutor’s inquiry will not disrupt the election in accordance with Justice Department guidelines.
Gowdy also commented on former CIA Director John Brennan’s eight-hour interview with Durham’s team last month, after which a longtime aide said Brennan was told he is not a “subject or a target” of a criminal investigation.
“My experience as a prosecutor is that your status can change in an instant. You can move from being a witness to a subject to a target. So, I understand that Brennan’s PR machine wants us all to believe that he’s not a target. That status can change. You’re one document or one false statement away from going from one to the other,” Gowdy said.
