A Rasmussen poll revealed that 63% of likely voters believe the Russia collusion probe against former President Donald Trump was a partisan "hit job," Breitbart reported. A majority also favored the idea that FBI officials behind it should be "criminally prosecuted."
Last week, Special Counsel John Durham released his 300-page report on the circumstances that launched the so-called Russiagate probe. The FBI based its probe on alleged information that Trump colluded with the Kremlin to get elected.
Durham found the entire investigation was built on fake evidence. "Based on the review of Crossfire Hurricane and related intelligence activities, we conclude that the Department and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report," Durham's report concluded.
As many suspected, "Crossfire Hurricane" was launched using opposition research from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. The officials who ran the investigation, including Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Peter Strzok and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, have been implicated in Durham's report.
When Rassmussen polled more than a thousand likely voters in the U.S. after Durham's report was released, 59% wanted the officials involved in the sham of an investigation to be "criminally prosecuted." It's no wonder they feel that way, considering how the initial investigation played out.
George Papadopoulos, a former Trump aide, said that the campaign was investigated in 2016 despite repeated denials of collusion with Russia, Fox News reported. The FBI secretly recorded conversations between Papadopoulos and employees who were acting as spies.
Throughout those conversations, Papadopoulos vehemently denied claims that Russia was involved in Trump's election efforts. He called that activity "illegal" and that it would amount to "treason."
In other conversations, Papadopoulos was also asked about the hack of the Democratic National Committee that resulted in its emails showing up on WikiLeaks. He similarly denied those charges, but the FBI found him to be "weird" and "rehearsed."
When the feds applied for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to spy on Trump's campaign through advisor Carter Page, they conveniently left out those denials from Papadopoulos. The former Trump aide believes this is indicative of the weaponization of the FBI that was happening in 2016 that still persists.
"You have a ‘target,’ me, who is explicitly saying that any work or ‘collusion’ with Russia is treason and that I have no idea what this informant is talking about," Papadopoulos recalled. "Yet, this and other exculpatory information is intentionally withheld from the FISA court so that the FBI can continue their pre-determined plan to sabotage the Trump campaign," he charged.
"As Durham stated clearly, there was absolutely no basis to launch an investigation, let alone to continue one," Papadopoulos said. He believes the report serves as a "profound indictment" on the FBI and other agencies.
Papadopoulos said "heads have to roll" over this clear partisan attack, but he's happy that the truth has come to light anyway. "I feel ecstatic," he said.
"My wife and I have been celebrating all day today because this really didn’t just tarnish my image. It also tarnished my wife’s image, who really stuck with me through this entire saga from beginning until end," Papadopoulos said. "So I’m a very lucky guy."
The relentless investigation against Trump will go down as one of the greatest political injustices in modern times. Trump endured years of character assassination and suspicion because of an investigation that should have never been launched in the first place -- and that's shameful.
