With the liberal media either downplaying the bombshell revelations from Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation into the Russia collusion hoax, raging at them, or just plain ignoring them, it’s worth looking back at how they used to celebrate his investigations. Because back in 2008, they had high hopes for his investigation into then-President George W. Bush’s CIA after interrogation tapes were destroyed.
During an appearance on The Situation Room on January 2, 2008, former CNN host Jack Cafferty wasn’t sure that Durham would get to the bottom of what happened to the tapes. But then-senior legal analyst (now-chief and infamous Zoom masturbator) Jeffrey Toobin stepped up to the plate to defend Durham and sing his praises as a prosecutor:
CAFFERTY: How do you know they're going to answer my questions?
TOOBIN: Well, this is a very responsible prosecutor. He has a terrific record. He's not politically answerable...
CAFFERTY: Is he like those other prosecutors that all got fired...
TOOBIN: Well, but Patrick...
CAFFERTY: ...a few months ago.
“Well, but Pat Fitzgerald went ahead with his investigation and prosecuted one of the top aides to the president of the United States. I mean, you can't accuse him of not being independent,” Toobin added.
Cafferty was very interested in Durham taking his investigation to the Bush White House and was worried the President would hide behind executive privilege. Even then-senior political analyst (now-chief) Gloria Borger was encouraged that Durham was “going to answer your questions.”
A short time later, host Wolf Blitzer looked to Toobin to answer if Durham would pursue obstruction of justice charges. “It's a federal crime, obstruction of justice. And that clearly is going to be the agenda of Paul [sic] Durham, the Connecticut prosecutor who is going to be running this thing, to determine whether -- particularly the CIA people who did not acknowledge the existence of these tapes in these investigations and then destroyed them -- whether that was a crime,” he said.
Toobin was on during an earlier hour of The Situation Room and according to a CNN transcript of the appearance, he was a big fan of Durham:
It's a big deal, because particularly when you assign one prosecutor to investigate one case, it takes a long time. And John Durham is a very distinguished prosecutor. Janet Reno appointed him to investigate a very controversial case in Boston involving the FBI, ties to the mob. So I don't think anyone will question his qualifications.
And in the news report about Durham’s appointment, then-CNN reporter Ed Henry announced that then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey chose “a no-nonsense prosecutor” who “sent several Connecticut state officials to jail in a mob informant case.”
Let’s see how they describe Durham as he puts the screws to the Clinton campaign and their lackeys.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s The Situation Room
January 2, 2008
6:32 p.m. Eastern(…)
JACK CAFFERTY: I would like to find out what the White House knew about this. Harriet Miers said “don't do anything to the tapes,” a federal judge said, “don't do anything to the tapes.” Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton said, “even if we didn't ask you for the information about the detainees, give us everything you've got.” Something stinks here.
GLORIA BORGER (senior political analyst): But they're going to answer your questions.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, (senior legal analyst): That's right. What are you complaining about?
BORGER: That's exactly what the investigation is about.
CAFFERTY: How do you know they're going to answer my questions?
TOOBIN: Well, this is a very responsible prosecutor. He has a terrific record. He's not politically answerable...
CAFFERTY: Is he like those other prosecutors that all got fired...
TOOBIN: Well, but Patrick...
CAFFERTY: ...a few months ago.
TOOBIN: Well, but Pat Fitzgerald went ahead with his investigation and prosecuted one of the top aides to the president of the United States. I mean you can't accuse him of not being independent.
BORGER: Right.
TOOBIN: Sure, his sentence was commuted, but I mean it was a pretty serious investigation.
BORGER: And I think you have to give the attorney general credit, because I'm sure there was a lot of pressure on him not to do this and he did. And he decided that he needed to get to the bottom of it, because there were serious questions. I mean you have Tom...
CAFFERTY: Why are they both ganging up on me?
[Laughter]
BLITZER: Because you’re just back
[Laughter]
TOOBIN: You're better in person
BORGER: Oh, it's so much more fun
[Crosstalk]
BLITZER: Governor Kean, the co-chairman a Republican, Lee Hamilton, the other co-chairman a Democrat, they wrote in The New York Times: "Government officials decided not to inform a lawfully constituted body created by Congress and the president to investigate one of the greatest tragedies to confront this country. We call that obstruction."
Now, obstruction is a pretty technical but specific word.
TOOBIN: It's a federal crime, obstruction of justice. And that clearly is going to be the agenda of Paul [sic] Durham, the Connecticut prosecutor who is going to be running this thing, to determine whether -- particularly the CIA people who did not acknowledge the existence of these tapes in these investigations and then destroyed them -- whether that was a crime.
BLITZER: You know, this...
CAFFERTY: And let me just ask Jeff.
BLITZER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Let me just ask Jeff. You're a lawyer. How much executive privilege can the White House hide behind in one of these deals?
TOOBIN: This is going to be a brutally difficult investigation because not only are there issues of privilege, but everything is highly classified. So, for him to get access to the material he needs to investigate is going to be a nightmare. And it will certainly take up the rest of President Bush's tenure- -term.
BLITZER: And, politically, there could be some -- if there's a full scale investigation over the next year -- and this could take that -- this could take at least a year -- that could certainly spill over into the political process.
BORGER: I mean this is just another problem that the White House didn't want to have, that the CIA didn't want to have. I mean, Wolf, this is an agency that's -- it's torn apart right now and this investigation is going to tear it apart even more.
CAFFERTY: They did it to themselves.
(…)
