A top FBI official appeared before a House panel and admitted that she had not read U.S. special counsel John Durham's report critical of the bureau.
Durham's report, released last week, said the FBI lacked "actual evidence" to investigate Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and relied too heavily on tips provided by Trump's political opponents to fuel the probe.
Testifying before a House Homeland Security subcommittee on Tuesday, FBI Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Jill Murphy was asked by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Tenn., whether she was familiar with the report.
"I have not read that report, sir," Murphy said.
Pfluger, chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence, appeared surprised and said, "You have not read the report?"
"I have not yet read the Durham report," she said.
Pfluger remained silent for several seconds before saying, "I'm honestly speechless at this point in time. I'm not sure what to think of this as someone who has spent an entire career in counterintelligence."
The lawmaker then briefly summarized the findings of the report, saying the FBI had worked with uncorroborated evidence.
"Does this concern you," Pfluger asked Murphy.
"So again, sir, I haven't read the Durham report. So I'm not sure, you know, I have no knowledge of …" she responded, trailing off.
When pressed why she hadn't read the report, Murphy said she hadn't had the time to do so.
"This is a sincere question, does election collusion worry you?" Pfluger asked Murphy, who said it did.
"I would highly recommend reading that because we spent four years discussing that — there was uncorroborated evidence," he said. "The Durham report specifically outlines the outcome of that. It's very disappointing to hear this."
Murphy later told Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., that she hadn't even been briefed on the Durham report.
"Why is that not a matter of such import that you would want urgently to understand what the special counsel concluded about the work of the counterintelligence division? In such a grave case?" Bishop asked.
"Sir, if you'd like a brief on the Durham report from the counterintelligence division, I'm happy to take that back," Murphy said.
"Wow, that sounds almost contemptuous," said Bishop, who later asked Murphy whether she intended to read the report.
"I do intend to read it," Murphy said.
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