The FBI lacked "actual evidence" to investigate Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and relied too heavily on tips provided by Mr Trump's political opponents to fuel the probe, US Special Counsel John Durham concluded in a report released on Monday.
The report marks the end of a four-year probe launched in May 2019 when then-Attorney General William Barr appointed Mr Durham, a veteran prosecutor, to probe potential missteps by the FBI when it launched its early stage "Crossfire Hurricane" inquiry into potential contacts between Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
That Crossfire Hurricane investigation would later be handed over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who in March 2019 concluded there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
In his new 306-page report, Mr Durham concluded that US intelligence and law enforcement did not possess any "actual evidence" of collusion between Mr Trump's campaign and Russia prior to launching Crossfire Hurricane.
He also accused the bureau of treating the 2016 Trump probe differently from other politically sensitive investigations, including several involving Mr Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
For instance, he said Ms Clinton and other officials received defensive briefings about being the possible targets of foreign interference, whereas Mr Trump received no such briefing before the FBI opened probes into four members of his campaign.
"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," Mr Durham wrote.
"Senior FBI personnel displayed a serious lack of analytical rigour towards the information that they received, especially information from politically affiliated persons and entities."
In response to the report, the FBI said it has already implemented dozens of corrective actions that have been in place for some time.
Mr Durham's report was released to Congress on Monday without redactions after it was delivered to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday.
House Judiciary Committee Republican Chair Jim Jordan said on Twitter he had invited Mr Durham to testify about his report next week.
Mr Durham's findings are likely to become political fodder for Mr Trump, who is planning to run for re-election in 2024 despite facing criminal charges in New York and two federal investigations.
