John Durham: FBI's rationale for launching Trump-Russia probe 'seriously flawed'

June 21 (UPI) -- The FBI's reasons for launching an investigation into former president Donald Trump's supposed ties to Russia were "seriously flawed," special counsel John Durham told House lawmakers Wednesday.

Durham testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee, taking questions about the findings of his more than 300-page report.

Durham's report into allegations of collusion between Russian officials and Trump's campaign in 2016, was released in May.

On Monday, Durham confirmed he would appear in front of both the Judiciary Committee, as well as the House Intelligence Committee.

"As we said in the report, our findings were sobering," Durham told committee members on Wednesday.

"I can tell you, having spent 40 years plus as a prosecutor, they were particularly sobering to me."

Then-Attorney General Willaim Barr tapped Durham to investigate the basis for an FBI starting the investigation into Trump's alleged Russian ties. Durham was serving as Connecticut's Attorney General at the time.

Durham continued the investigation under President Joe Biden and said Wednesday that current Attorney General Merrick Garland did not interfere.

"Attorney General Garland never asked me not to indict somebody," Durham told the committee.

"I want to emphasize in the strongest terms possible that my colleagues and I carried out our work in good faith with integrity and in the spirit of following the facts wherever they lead without fear of favor. At no time and in no sense did we act with the purpose to further partisan or political ends."

The report found that "neither U.S. law enforcement nor the intelligence community appears to have possessed any actual evidence of collusion in their holdings at the commencement of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation," referring to the FBI's Trump investigation.