Durham report faults origins of Trump-Russia investigation, does not recommend charges Special counsel John Durham’s report uncovering the origins of the justice department’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election found the FBI was relying on shaky intel, but does not recommend that charges should be pursued, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports. The Guardian has obtained a copy of the report, which the government will release at 4pm ET today. Durham was appointed by the justice department during Donald Trump’s presidency to look into how the initial investigation began, but his inquiry became mired in allegations of unethical conduct as well as two failed prosecutions. The White House has released the 2022 financial disclosures for President Biden. His finances have seen little change year-over-year, according to a Reuters report. More from Reuters: Book royalties for both the president and first lady Jill Biden, however, fell compared with a year earlier. Biden earned between $2,500 and $5,000 in book royalties in 2022 compared with $30,000 a year earlier. He also earned less than $3,000 in “speaking and writing engagements,” the disclosures show. Rudy Giuliani sued by former associate for alleged sexual abuse and harassment In a new and graphic lawsuit, Noelle Dunphy, a former employee of Rudy Giuliani, is alleging the former New York City mayor and lawyer for Donald Trump made sexual demands, was constantly drunk and “abused his position as Ms Dunphy’s lawyer to pressure her into sex”. The lawsuit claims that many of his remarks were recorded. According to the lawsuit, “Giuliani began abusing Ms Dunphy almost immediately after she started working for the Defendants. He made clear that satisfying his sexual demands – which came virtually anytime, anywhere – was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation.” In one graphic example, the lawsuit details allegations of how Giuliani forced Dunphy to perform oral sex on him. “It became clear to Ms Dunphy that there was no way out of giving him oral sex,” the lawsuit reads. “She did so, against her will.” The lawsuit seeks at least $10m in damages from Giuliani and three of his companies. The FBI has released a statement in response to the Durham report saying, “FBI leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time.” “Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented,” the statement reads. “This report reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI continues to do its work with the rigor, objectivity, and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect.” For those just catching up, the Durham report is an investigation compiled over the course of three years by John Durham, a Trump-appointed special counsel brought on in 2020 to, as my colleague Martin Pengelly put it, investigate an investigation. From Pengelly’s report: His new mission was to look for political bias in the federal investigation which ensnared Trump and aides including Michael Flynn, the national security adviser fired for lying to the FBI about contacts with the Russian ambassador. Durham’s appointment came in the immediate aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Trump and Russia. Mueller did not find evidence of collusion but did lay out extensive evidence of Trump’s attempts to obstruct justice. Trump and his allies predicted Durham would reveal systemic wrongdoing, proving the rightwing conspiracy theory that a “deep state” of bureaucrats and intelligence operatives was thwarting Trump’s every move. Some Democrats cautiously welcomed the appointment. Critics said Durham was being sent on a retaliatory political mission. In October 2020, shortly before the presidential election, Barr made Durham a special counsel, thereby ensuring he could continue should Trump lose the White House to Joe Biden. On Monday, nearly two and a half years into Biden’s presidency, Durham released his report. It was highly critical of FBI and justice department practices but it did not reveal systemic wrongdoing or recommend new charges. As the Associated Press put it, the investigation had wrapped up after delivering “underwhelming results, prosecutors securing a guilty plea from a little-known FBI employee but losing the only two criminal cases they took to trial”. More Republicans are beginning to respond to the Durham report. Arizona Republican congressman Andy Biggs is calling for the defunding of the FBI, while Illinois representative Mary Miller called the investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia during the 2016 election a “partisan witch hunt”. As a reminder, the Durham report found that the FBI used uncorroborated evidence as the basis to open the Crossfire Hurricane investigation but did not recommend any additional charges. If you want to read the Durham report – all 306 pages of it – the link is here. Or you can hold off till next week, when John Durham might take Republican chair of the House judiciary committee, Jim Jordan, up on his offer to testify: Durham report faults origins of Trump-Russia investigation, does not recommend charges Special counsel John Durham’s report uncovering the origins of the justice department’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election found the FBI was relying on shaky intel, but does not recommend that charges should be pursued, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports. The Guardian has obtained a copy of the report, which the government will release at 4pm ET today. Durham was appointed by the justice department during Donald Trump’s presidency to look into how the initial investigation began, but his inquiry became mired in allegations of unethical conduct as well as two failed prosecutions. Police name attack suspect as 49-year-old Xuan Kha Tran Pham The United States Capitol Police (USCP) have named 49-year-old Xuan Kha Tran Pham as the suspected assailant at Representative Gerry Connolly’s office. In a statement, the USCP said Pham lived in Fairfax, Virginia, and is facing one count of malicious wounding, and another count of aggravated malicious wounding. They note that they do not know what his motivation was. Congressional staffer suffered head wound, attacker used metal bat: CNN CNN spoke with Representative Gerry Connolly, who gave details about today’s attack at his office, including that the assailant struck staff with a metal bat, and that an intern on her first day at work was among the victims: The top Democrat in the House Hakeem Jeffries has condemned the attack on Virginia congressman Gerry Connolly. “Earlier today, I spoke to Congressman Connolly to offer him and his staff the full support of the House Democratic Caucus family in the aftermath of this horrific attack. We are grateful for the members of law enforcement and medical professionals who swiftly acted to apprehend the suspect and care for the affected members of our Capitol Hill community,” Jeffries, who serves as House minority leader, said in a statement. “The safety of our Members and of our staff remains of paramount importance, particularly given the increased instances of political violence in our country. I have asked the House Sergeant at Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police to continue their focus on collaborating with our Members. We must collectively take every available precaution to protect Members and our staff, who serve the American people with patriotism and passion and deserve to do so without fear for their safety.” My colleague Martin Pengelly has the full report on the assault in Fairfax: A person wielding a baseball bat sought out a Democratic member of Congress at a district office in Virginia before “committing an act of violence” against two staff members, the representative said, adding that both people attacked suffered “non-life-threatening injuries”. “The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff’s accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable and devastating,” the congressman, Gerry Connolly, said in a statement to media. Acts of political extremism, including ones targeting lawmakers, have become increasingly common in the US.