Fox News host Sean Hannity corrected former President Donald Trump live on air on Tuesday during their discussion of a special counsel investigation into the FBI's Russia probe.
Trump was referring to John Durham, who was appointed during his administration to investigate the bureau's probe into alleged ties between the former president's 2016 campaign and Russia.
The former president and his allies have expressed strong support for Durham's work and criticized the initial FBI investigation, arguing that it was politically motivated and tainted by its reliance on the controversial Steele dossier.
During the interview on Tuesday, Trump told Hannnity: "The Durham report—you know, it's come out. It could have been a little earlier but it's unbelievably completed. I would imagine…"
Hannity jumped in to say: "It's not even out yet, though."
The two men then spoke over each other, with Hannity mentioning the Steele dossier and Trump referring to "the foundations" of Durham's report.
Durham has not issued a report on his work yet and the investigation is ongoing.
On November 4, Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst, was arrested and indicted by a grand jury on five counts of making false statements to FBI agents in interviews in 2017.
Danchenko was a researcher for the Steele dossier, which the FBI used as the basis for an application for a warrant to tap the phone of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, in 2016.
Trump has maintained that the use of Steele dossier tainted the FBI investigation and argued that the Russia probe was without foundation. The document was prepared by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and contained numerous unsubstantiated claims.
Danchenko was employed by Steele and is the third person indicted as a result of Durham's probe. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible Trump campaign links to Russia found insufficient evidence to bring charges against members of the campaign.
Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee in July 2019 that the former president "was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed."
He said: "We did not address 'collusion,' which is not a legal term. Rather, we focused on whether the evidence was sufficient to charge any member of the campaign with taking part in a criminal conspiracy. It was not."
Trump made the comments about Durham in response to a question about his intentions for 2024. He didn't directly answer the question, but has repeatedly hinted at another White House run.
Uncommon Knowledge
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About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
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