Durham to Rep. Cohen After 'Nothing-Burger' Attack: 'My Concern About My Reputation Is With ... My Family, and My Lord' (June 21, 2023)

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., ended his questioning of Special Counsel John Durham with a warning about his reputation. “Well, I followed your report. Mr. Donald Trump, Jr., would have called it a nothing-burger. You got no convictions. You got nothing. It was all set up to hurt the Mueller Report, which was correct and was redacted, to hurt the Bidens and to help Trump and you were a part of it,” Cohen said, according to the official hearing record [1].

“You have a good reputation. You had a good reputation. That’s why the two Democrats supported you,” Cohen went on. “The longer you hold on to Mr. Barr and this report that Mr. Barr gave you as Special Counsel your reputation will be damaged as everybody’s reputation who gets involved with Donald Trump is damaged. He’s damaged goods.” [1]

Durham answered in one sentence. “My concern about my reputation is with the people who I respect, my family, and my Lord, and I’m perfectly comfortable with my reputation with them, sir,” he said [1].

“Well said. God bless you,” said the committee chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. The record notes applause [1].

The video above shows the exchange at the House Judiciary Committee hearing on June 21, 2023. Quotes are from the official hearing record and Fox News [1][2].

”Undecided on How He Feels”

Before Durham could answer, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., got a laugh. “Can we presume the gentleman is undecided on how he feels about the former President?” Issa asked. The record notes laughter [1].

”None of Those Are Correct”

Cohen had started by asking who appointed Durham. “As U.S. Attorney it was President Trump at the time with two Democratic Senators from Connecticut supporting the nomination,” Durham said [1].

“Do you believe Mr. Trump has pretty good judgment on people, their abilities, and their character?” Cohen asked. “I’m not going to characterize Mr. Trump or my thoughts about Mr. Trump,” Durham answered [1].

Cohen then tried to get Durham to weigh in on Trump’s insults of former Attorney General Bill Barr. “Mr. Trump has called Mr. Barr a gutless pig, a coward, and a RINO. Which of those is correct and which isn’t?” Cohen asked. “In my experience, none of those are correct,” Durham said [1].

“That’s outside the scope of my report,” Durham said when Cohen pressed. “Also, outside the scope of your report apparently—” Cohen began, to laughter [1].

”My Assignment”

Cohen asked why Durham had not looked into the Trump Tower meeting and Paul Manafort. Durham stuck to his mandate. “My assignment was to look at the conduct of the intelligence community agencies, not to conduct a separate investigation that was done by—how served, as done by the Senate, or was done by Director Mueller,” he said [1].

“I think that Director Mueller investigated that, and I believe one of your House Committees explored that. That was outside the scope of what we were looking at,” Durham said of the Trump Tower meeting [1].

”Apologized for the Manner”

Earlier, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., read the report’s central finding back to Durham: that “the DOJ and FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law.” He asked why Durham called his conclusions sobering [1].

“I have had any number of FBI agents who I’ve worked with over the years—some of them are retired, some are still in place—who have come to me and apologized for the manner in which that investigation was undertaken. I take that seriously,” Durham said [1].

“To date has any evidence of collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia have ever been uncovered?” Johnson asked. “There’s information, obviously, in the report that was prepared by Director Mueller and whatnot, but as to collusion or conspiracy I’m not aware of any,” Durham answered [1].

What the Report Found

Durham’s report, released the month before, “concluded that the FBI should never have launched an investigation into alleged collusion between Trump and Russia ahead of the 2016 election,” Fox News reported [2].

Even CNN’s Jake Tapper said it hit hard. “The report is now here, it has dropped, and it might not have produced everything of what some Republicans hoped for, [but] it is regardless devastating to the FBI and to a degree, it does exonerate Donald Trump,” Tapper told viewers, according to Fox News [3].

By the Numbers

2: Democratic senators from Connecticut who supported Durham’s nomination as U.S. attorney, per Durham [1].
3: insults Cohen said Trump used for Barr [1].
220-209: Johnson’s vote for Speaker four months later [5].
312-226: Trump’s Electoral College win in 2024 [4].

What Happened Next

Johnson became Speaker. Four months after the hearing, on Oct. 25, 2023, the House elected Johnson Speaker, 220 votes to 209 for Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, according to the House Clerk [5].

The “damaged goods” won. Less than a year and a half after Cohen’s warning, Donald Trump was elected president again, winning 312 electoral votes to Kamala Harris’ 226, according to the National Archives [4].

For Rep. Eric Swalwell’s questioning of Durham at the same hearing, see HYGO News’ page on Swalwell and Durham.