# Barr appoints U.S. attorney John Durham to investigate the investigation **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 14, 2019, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barr-appoints-u-s-attorney-john-durham-to-investigate-the-investigation/833946 "2019-05-14T14:59:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barr-appoints-u-s-attorney-john-durham-to-investigate-the-investigation/833946/61 "2019-05-20T13:28:18Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Yes Trump and the gang are master criminals who can cover tracks and keep secrets from the most powerful and invasive spying apparatus in world history. One of the patterns apparent from what we’ve seen of the Mueller Report is that the Russians had the good sense to run the election-tampering operation themselves and relegate the Trumpkins to the role of supporting mooks (still complicit, but in less glaring ways than the core operatives on the Russian side). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barr-appoints-u-s-attorney-john-durham-to-investigate-the-investigation/833946/62 "2019-05-20T15:18:52Z")
For clandestine operations, paranoia is a positive. “Need to know” is the standard, you don’t include any more knowledgeable conspirators than absolutely necessary. As a result, I don’t believe it is at all likely the Il Douche, himself, was an actual conspirator. Putin is a veteran KGB spook, no way, no how, does he willingly include a shit-for-brains motormouth as a co-conspirator! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barr-appoints-u-s-attorney-john-durham-to-investigate-the-investigation/833946/63 "2019-05-20T16:10:08Z")
The term “useful idiot” is itself a Russian invention. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barr-appoints-u-s-attorney-john-durham-to-investigate-the-investigation/833946/64 "2019-05-20T22:50:50Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Evidence of interactions is not evidence of collusion/conspiracy/coordination/collaboration/cooperation. Mueller agrees. You don’t get to have it both ways on, “Collusion is not a crime.” ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barr-appoints-u-s-attorney-john-durham-to-investigate-the-investigation/833946/65 "2019-05-21T15:41:39Z")
Hey **furt** , can I trouble you to return to the thread and address this. You posted this… > [@furt](#): > > 1. The claim that Trump or his surrogates cooperated, wittingly or unwittingly with the Russians, which at this point no reasonable and informed person can claim actually occured. I responded with this excerpt from the Mueller report… > [@](#): > > Second, Manafort briefed Kilimnik on the state of the Trump Campaign and Manafort’s plan to win the election. That briefing encompassed the Campaign’s messaging and its internal polling data. According to Gates, it also included discussion of “battleground” states, which Manafort identified as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. Is it your contention that this interaction not only is not cooperation, but that no reasonable person could view this as cooperation? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barr-appoints-u-s-attorney-john-durham-to-investigate-the-investigation/833946/66 "2020-12-04T03:14:17Z")
Re: Durham’s recent appointment to special counsel. As the eternal optimist, I’ll just note that whereas the Rosenstein-\>Mueller scope of work statement strongly restricted Mueller from investigating Donald Trump, the Barr-\>Durham scope of work statement completely allows it and would save Biden from seeming corrupt if Durham shows that, for example, Donald Trump interfered in the 2016 election investigations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barr-appoints-u-s-attorney-john-durham-to-investigate-the-investigation/833946.md?page=3)