Matt Gaetz suggested that FBI agents should be fired and prosecuted over the Durham report, which concluded that the FBI should never have opened an investigation into whether Donald Trump colluded with Russia to fix the 2016 election to win.
Gaetz said the agency should be stripped of its funds and fangs, and he described the agents’ actions as “ugly” after Durham decided there wasn’t enough evidence to even investigate Trump.
Florida lawmakers said John Durham’s recommendation that only one person — a lawyer who lied to the FBI — be charged with misconduct was “inadequate.”
“This report is an insufficient consequence of the misconduct and corruption that we have seen here,” Gaetz said.
“It was an operation from start to finish to connect the political opposition research of the DNC and the Clinton campaign to this intelligence trial and criminal trial.” “And it’s a sad day in America.”
“If this had been a Republican operation — an operation to help a Republican candidate — it would not have ended with a report, but with really significant indictments.”
Matt Gaetz said Monday night the release of the long-awaited Durham report shows the FBI needs to be stripped of its funds
The Durham Report is an absolutely FUCKING treatise on the FBI’s use of guns on President Trump.
This should be a clear call for legislative reform. We must defund and deprive government agencies that have turned their backs on the just cause of defending our nation¿ pic.twitter.com/peaeMcVr6q
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 16, 2023
The 300-page report, released Monday at the end of a four-year investigation, concluded that the FBI had over-relied on “raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated information.”
Trump seized on the report and accused the FBI agents involved of conspiring to overthrow his presidency. ‘Treason!’ He wrote about Truth Social.
His allies Gaetz and Jim Jordan, an Ohio congressman and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the report shows the FBI is dangerously partisan.
Jordan said he invited Durham to testify before his committee next week.
Gaetz told Newsmax Monday night that the FBI “has become the enforcement arm of the Democratic Party to take action against Trump.”
He called for a cut in the FBI’s resources.
“It’s very ugly for our country and it’s very ugly for the future of a democracy where the people make the decisions – not the law enforcement and intelligence officials,” Gaetz said.
“I think we need to strip of their powers, dismantle and defund many of these agencies and bodies and various task forces that have actually turned the just and righteous act of protecting our country into wanting a particular political candidate to win or loses.”
He also said more people needed to be prosecuted as a result of the Durham investigation.
“The only charge Durham can cite here is the charge against Kevin Clinesmith,” Gaetz said.
“That was the FBI attorney who altered evidence in a secret court.”
‘And guess what? He is already back as a lawyer. Got his license back and now practice law here in DC. Insufficient.’
Matt Gaetz poses with Donald Trump
Gaetz said the report was a sad indictment of the State of America.
“In a real world, Republicans and Democrats could work together here,” he said.
“Because it wasn’t that long ago that the FBI was a right-wing organization that was used as a weapon against civil rights activists and others.”
“And it was wrong then, and it’s wrong now.”
Gaetz said the report, authored by John Durham, the former US Attorney for Connecticut who was appointed special counsel in October 2020, was “a beacon to every Republican.”
“We cannot continue funding the FBI at current levels,” he said.
“And I think we should reclaim the $325 million that Nancy Pelosi donated to the new FBI headquarters in the DC area.”
“It’s a bad thing for people’s civil liberties.”
“There should be layoffs and there should be reforms, and they should be bipartisan.”
On Monday night, Jordan told Fox News host Sean Hannity that there was “a double standard” for Republicans and Democrats, and agreed with Gaetz that FBI funding should be cut.
Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the Durham report exposed double standards in the treatment of Republicans and Democrats and called for the FBI’s funding to be cut
“If conservatives were involved in something like this, they would pursue them non-stop – but conversely, you never see them actually being held accountable,” he said.
“So we need to address the power of the wallet.”
“We need to look at the approval process.”
The FBI issued a statement apologizing for its mistakes and stating that it has now initiated reforms.
“The conduct in 2016 and 2017 that Special Counsel Durham was investigating was the reason current FBI leadership has already implemented dozens of corrective actions that have now been in place for some time,” the agency said.
“Had these reforms been implemented in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented.”
“This report underscores the importance of ensuring that the FBI continues to do its job with the rigor, objectivity, and professionalism that the American people deserve and rightly expect.”
