McCabe and Brennan say they are willing to cooperate with Durham
Two of the people believed to be at the center of a criminal investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation defended that investigation's legitimacy. “There is nothing wrong with, especially a new attorney general, coming in at the conclusion of a tumultuous, high-profile, controversial case and asking questions about how that all began and what was the factual predication that led to the initiation of that investigation and how was it conducted. Those sorts of reviews take place all the time,” former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said a George Mason University event Wednesday at the National Press Club.
And former CIA Director John Brennan said investigators working with U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is leading the investigation, will "try to ensure that this is done appropriately." "I would like to believe that any such review or investigation will be conducted in a professional, fair, and apolitical manner," Brennan said. "And John Durham has a very good reputation."
Earlier this year, Attorney General William Barr tapped Durham to look into the early stages of the Russia investigation through the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller in 2017. The investigation has since transitioned into a criminal investigation, but McCabe said that’s not unusual. “It would be odd to expect Mr. Durham to conduct that sort of inquiry without having subpoena power and stuff like that," he said.
Both McCabe and Brennan, who has been highly critical of the Trump administration, said they had not been contacted by investigators, though McCabe expects to be. "I look back on it and I feel good about what it is we did as an intelligence community, and I feel very confident and comfortable with what I did, so I have no qualms whatsoever about talking with investigators who are going to be looking at this in a fair and appropriate manner," Brennan said. "And so if I’m called, I will be happy to talk." But both hinted at a fear Durham's investigation could be tainted by politics. Durham's investigation could be justified '''"if the effort is to try to look back and to ensure that things were done appropriately," Brennan said, "as opposed to questioning the analytical assessment that was done and the judgments that came out of it."
