Upacara penutupan SEA Games 2023 Kamboja berlangsung meriah pada hari Rabu malam WIB, 17/5/2023, di Morodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh, Kamboja. Pertunjukan Kun Bokator dan parade atlet menjadi pembuka acara penutupan yang penuh semangat.
Acara dimulai pada pukul 19.00 WIB dengan atraksi musikal dari para artis ternama Kamboja. Mengenakan kostum berwarna-warni yang indah, mereka membawakan lagu resmi SEA Games 2023.
Para artis juga menampilkan tarian yang memukau dan pencahayaan berwarna-warni yang menambah semarak penutupan SEA Games yang pertama kali diadakan di Kamboja.
Setelah itu, atraksi bela diri khas Kamboja, Kun Bokator, menghibur penonton. Ratusan penampil menunjukkan gerakan-gerakan Kun Bokator yang menggambarkan semangat dan keberanian para pejuang Kamboja.
Pertunjukan Kun Bokator juga dipadukan dengan koreografi yang indah sesuai dengan musik yang dimainkan. Penonton terkagum-kagum menyaksikan kehebatan mereka
Selanjutnya, parade atlet dari 11 negara peserta dimulai. Dengan penuh kegembiraan, mereka berjalan sambil mengibarkan bendera negara mereka masing-masing.
Berbeda dengan upacara pembukaan, para atlet kali ini mengenakan setelan training yang gagah dilengkapi dengan jaket tim mereka. Atlet Indonesia dengan bangga mengenakan setelan bernuansa hitam dan merah.
Para atlet juga memamerkan medali emas, perak, dan perunggu yang mereka raih di SEA Games 2023. Mereka dengan bangga mewakili negara mereka di negeri orang.
Perdana Menteri Kerajaan Kamboja, Samdech Kittipritthbindit Bun Rany Hun Sen, turut hadir dan memberikan sambutan kepada para atlet. Momen ini menjadi perpisahan yang menandai berakhirnya perjuangan para atlet di SEA Games 2023.
Ketua Komite Olimpiade Kamboja, Thong Khon, mengatakan bahwa ajang SEA Games mempunyai makna besar untuk negara di kawasan Asia Tenggara.
Adapun Thong Khon mengatakan demikian pada upacara penutupan atau closing ceremony SEA Games 2023 yang bergulir di Stadion Nasional Morodok Techo, Phnom Penh, Kamboja, hari Rabu, 17/05/2023.
Perdana Menteri Kamboja Hun Sen memberi salam hormat saat upacara penutupan atau closing ceremony SEA Games 2023 di Morodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh, hari Rabu malam WIB, 17/05/2023. (Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP)
“SEA Games menjunjung tinggi persahabatan, solidaritas, dan rasa hormat kepada sesama peserta dari kawasan Asia Tenggara melalui olahraga,” kata Thong Khon, dikutip dari Antara News.
2 Atlet Terbaik SEA Games 2023, Diumumkan saat Closing Ceremony
Atlet terbaik SEA Games 2023 Kamboja akhirnya diketahui. Hal itu diumumkan dalam rangkaian upacara penutupan (closing ceremony) SEA Games 2023 yang berlangsung di Morodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh, Kamboja, hari Rabu malam WIB, 17/05/2023.
Adapun atlet terbaik di SEA Games 2023 berjumlah dua orang. Yang pertama adalah atlet vovinam tuan rumah, Pal Choraksmey. Kemudian atlet renang Singapura, Ting Wen Quah.
Choraksmey dinobatkan menjadi atlet terbaik setelah mencatatkan prestasi gemilang di SEA Games 2023. Dia sukses mendulang enam medali dengan koleksi empat emas, satu perak dan satu perunggu.
Kemudian, atlet terbaik kedua di SEA Games 2023 adalah atlet renang Singapura, Ting Wen Quah. Ting berhasil mendapatkan prestasi tersebut karena tak kalah bersinar dari Choraksmey.
Bahkan, Ting mampu mengoleksi delapan medali dari Kamboja. Adapun delapan medali yang didapatnya itu terdiri dari enam emas dan dua perak.
SEA Games 2023 Kamboja sendiri ditutup dengan Vietnam keluar sebagai juara umum dalam klasemen akhir perolehan medali. Mereka sukses mengantongi total 355 medali dengan rincian 136 emas, 105 perak dan 114 perunggu.
Kemudian, Thailand duduk di posisi kedua dengan total 312 medali yang terdiri dari 108 emas, 86 perak dan 108 perunggu. Lalu, Indonesia menempati urutan ketiga dengan raihan total 276 medali yakni 87 emas, 80 perak dan 109 perunggu.
Kontingen Indonesia dalam ajang SEA Games edisi ke-32 ini berada di peringkat ketiga klasemen akhir perolehan medali. Kontingan Merah Putih meraih 276 medali yang terdiri dari 87 emas, 80 perak, dan 109 perunggu.
Perolehan medali emas Indonesia melampaui target yang ditetapkan Menteri Pemuda dan Olahraga Dito Ariotedjo, yakni 60 medali emas. Sedangkan Presiden Joko Widodo mengusung target lebih tinggi, yaitu 69 medali emas.
Selain itu, Indonesia juga mengakhiri penanti selama 32 tahun medali emas dari cabang sepak bola. Ini setelah Timnas Indonesia U-22 mengalahkan Thailand pada laga final di Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh, Kamboja, pada hari Selasa malam WIB, 16/05/2023.
Timnas Indonesia U-22 menang dengan skor telak 5-2 lewat babak perpanjangan waktu. Sukses Skuad Garuda diwarnai hujan kartu merah dan kuning.
Setelah dari Kamboja SEA Games selanjutnya akan berlangsung di Thailand pada tahun 2025. Hal itu ditandai dengan penyerahan bendera Federasi SEA Games (SEAGF) dari tuan rumah SEA Games 2023 Kamboja kepada perwakilan SEA Games Thailand di closing ceremony.
Performers during the SEA Games closing ceremony. Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters
Estafet bendera diberikan oleh Ketua Komite Penyelenggara SEA Games Kamboja (CAMSOC), Tea Banh, kepada Presiden Komite Olimpiade Thailand (NOCT), Jenderal Prawit Wongsuwa.
“Bendera Thailand kini telah berkibar dengan bangga, menunjukkan kesiapannya untuk menjadi tuan rumah SEA Games ke-33, pada bulan Desember 2025,” demikian kutipan yang disampaikan pada upacara penutupan SEA Games 2023 Kamboja.
SEA Games 2025 Thailand bakal berrlangsung di tiga kota, Bangkok, Chonburi, dan Songkhla.
Thailand bakal mempersiapkan penampilan spektakuler. Mereka juga akan memberikan pelayanan terbaik melalui keramahan masyarakat negaranya.
“Selain itu, Thailand juga siap untuk memberikan penampilan yang menggabungkan seni tradisional dengan sentuhan modern yang sesuai deengan tiga kota penyelenggara SEA Games mendatang,” ucap narator.
Lebih lanjut, sebuah pementasan bertajuk “Sawasdeee SEA Games” atau “Halo, SEA Games” dalam bahasa Thailand menunjukkan kegembiraan.
Adapun ini akan menjadi kali ketujuh SEA Games berlangsung di Thailand. Sebelumnya, mereka menjadi tuan rumah pada tahun 1959, 1967, 1975, 1985, 1995, dan 2007.
Twitter chief Elon Musk has said he will continue to make controversial statements on the social media platform even if it results in financial losses, as he rejected accusations of anti-Semitism on US broadcaster CNBC on Tuesday.
“I’ll say what I want to say and if the consequences of that is losing money, so be it,” Musk told CNBC’s David Faber, later adding that he is “allowed to say what I want.”
Musk’s comments came shortly after he attracted widespread condemnation on Tuesday for describing Hungarian-American businessman George Soros as someone who “hates humanity” and wants to “erode the very fabric of civilization” to his audience of nearly 140 million Twitter followers.
Musk also compared Soros – who is a prolific donor to numerous left-wing causes in the United States and abroad – to the Marvel Comics super villain, Magneto. This prompted criticism from David Kaye, the former UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, who described Musk’s Twitter salvo as “Soros-baiting anti-Semitism.”
Soros comes from a Jewish background in Hungary and survived the Nazi occupation of his home country in his youth. Magneto, by comparison, is a comic-book villain from a German-Jewish background who was a concentration camp survivor in Marvel Comics canon.
Attacks on Soros have frequently been referred to as anti-Jewish propaganda, including by the Anti-Defamation League, which on Tuesday accused Musk of propagating anti-Semitic tropes in his attack on Soros.
But Musk, who has championed himself as a self-declared “free speech absolutist,” defended his stance to CNBC and insisted that he is “pro-Semite, if anything” and that his views on Soros are “just my opinion.”
Musk, who added Twitter to his extensive business portfolio last year in a high profile, multi-billion-dollar takeover, has implemented a wave of cost-cutting measures in the tech firm since the $44 billion deal was rubber-stamped. He admitted to the BBC last week that he has fired more than 80% of Twitter’s workforce since taking charge.
He added that Twitter is “close” to breaking even ahead of the introduction next month of advertising executive Linda Yaccarino as the company’s new chief executive in place of Musk – and that he intends to ask some of the 6,000 staff laid off in recent cuts to return to the Twitter fold “if they’re not too mad at us.”
Insiden adu jotos dalam Laga final cabang sepak bola putra SEA Games 2023 antara Indonesia vs Thailand pada hari Selasa malam, 16/05/2023, terjadu dua kali keributan antara ofisial dan pemain kedua tim. Sebuah cuplikan video yang beredar di media sosial menjadi bukti bahwa ofisial Thailand menjadi pemicu adu jotos tersebut.
Keributan pertama terjadi tak lama setelah Thailand berhasil menyamakan kedudukan menjadi 2-2 pada masa injury time di babak kedua lewat gol Yotsakorn Burapha. Seperti yang kita saksikan di layar televisi saat siaran live laga tersebut, para pemain Thailand memang merayakan gol Yotsakorn sambi berlari keluar lapangan hingga sampai menghampiri tribun penonton.
Namun, perayaan gol tersebut yang dilakukan para ofisial Thailand juga dengan cara berselebrasi ke arah bench timnas Indonesia dengan gaya yang provokatif. Dilihat dari cuplikan video yang terekam oleh salah satu stasiun televisi Vietnam, terlihat ofisial timnas dan satu pemain cadangan Thailand melakukan penyerangan yang dilawan secara refleks oleh pemain timnas Indonesia
Keributan kedua terjadi setelah gol dicetak striker Garuda Muda, Irfan Jauhari pada menit-menit awal babak tambahan pertama. Keributan kedua bahkan terlihat lebih buruk di mana para ofisial dan pemain kedua tim terlibat saling pukul. Manajer timnas Indonesia, Sumardji yang berusaha melerai perkelahian bahkan justru ikut terpelanting akibat terkena pukulan ofisial Thailand.
Petugas keamanan bahkan sampai harus melerai aksi baku hantam tesebut, Dalam videolain terlihat, Sumardji sempat dibopong ofisial tim Indonesia dalam keadaan mulut terlihat berdarah.
Menyusul keributan kedua itu, wasit Qasim Matar Ali Al Hatmi yang memiliki rekor buruk sebagai wasit, mengeluarkan empat kartu merah. Satu kartu merah untuk Komang Teguh dan satu lagi untuk kiper Thailand, S Rakyart dan dua kartu merah lainnya, masing-masing untuk ofisial Indonesia dan Thailand yang terlibat baku hantam.
Indra Sjafri meminta Marselino Ferdinan untuk tetap fokus. Tak hanya soal menjaga keunggulan, namun juga memperlihatkan bagaimana cara bermain sportif kepada tim Thailand.
Menurut kacamata Indra Sjafri, insiden tersebut merupakan hal yang sangat tidak perlu terjadi. Terlebih dalam olahraga sepak bola yang selalu menggaungkan fair play dan sportifitas.
"Ketika mereka mencetak skor 2-2, mereka bergegas ke arah kami untuk merayakannya sehingga keadaan menjadi tidak terkendali."
"Kami mendapat keunggulan di gol ketiga dan segera merespons dengan merayakan di depan mereka, tapi menurut saya tindakan hari ini benar-benar tidak dapat diterima. Setelah pertandingan kami berbicara dan meminta maaf satu sama lain, sekarang tidak apa-apa," terang Indra Sjafri, dikutip dari laman 24h.
Sesaat sebelum pertandingan dilanjutkan, Indra Sjafri memberikan wejangan khusus kepada marselino Ferdinan cs.
Dia ingin pemainnya di sisa waktu pertandingan mampu menjaga emosi dan bermain bersih. Tujuannya agar insiden serupa tak terulang yang berpotensi merugikan timya.
Maklum, dalam pertandingan final kali ini ada 6 kartu merah yang dikeluarkan oleh pengadil pertandingan. Salah satunya diberikan kepada penggawa Timnas U22 Indonesia, Komang.
“Saya mencoba memanggil semua orang kembali, mengatakan untuk menahan diri dan bermain lebih baik dari Thailand, bukan untuk bergulat dan bertarung. Kami menang tidak hanya dengan skor tetapi juga dengan aksi, para pemain tetap tenang dan fokus untuk terus bermain," terangnya.
Laga final itu sendiri harus dilalui lewat drama babak perpanjangan 2x15 menit setelah kedudukan 2-2 selama waktu normal 90 menit plus tambahan waktu akibat berbagai insiden. Pada babak tambahan waktu, timnas Indonesia berhasil menambah tiga gol lewat Irfan Jauhari, Fajar Fathurachman, dan Beckham Putra. Indonesia pun mengakhiri puasa meraih medali emas di pentas cabang sepak bola putra SEA Games, selama 32 tahun.
Meskipun penutupan SEA Games tinggal satu hari lagi, klasemen Indonesia di SEA Games 2023 ini, Indonesia akan kukuh berada di peringkat tiga. Hingga hari Senin, 16/05/2023, pukul 22.00 WIB, Tim Merah Putih sukses mengumpulkan 276 medali, yang terdiri dari 86 medali emas, 81 medali perak dan 109 medali perunggu.
Yang terbaru, Indonesia menambah medali emas dari cabang sepak bola. Timnas Indonesia U-22 merebut medali emas SEA Games 2023 setelah mengalahkan Thailand 5-2 pada laga final yang diwarnai insiden memalukan yang diperlihatkan pemain dan official Thailand diturnamen internasiaonal, menyerang tribun timnas sehingga terjadi adu jotos dan diwarnai hujan kart.
Timnas Indonesia berhasil mengakhiri paceklik juara di cabor olahraga selama 32 tahun dengan menyudahi penantian itu di tahun 2023, dengan pencapaian gemilang merah putih dibawah asuhan Indra Sajfri, dengan meraih emas dan dengan mengalahkan , meluluhlantahkan, meremukkan tim Thailand 5-2 tanpa ampun, luar biasa. Indonesia terakhir meraih emas sepak bola di SEA Games pada 1991 atau 32 tahun silam.
Sementara itu, cabor Bulutangkis, kontingen Indonesia benar-benar berjaya pada final perorangan bulutangkis SEA Games 2023. Bertanding di Morodok Techo National Stadium, Selasa (16/5/2023), Indonesia sukses meraih empat medali emas.
Medali emas tersebut berasal dari nomor ganda putri, ganda putra, tunggal putri, dan ganda campuran. Satu-satunya emas yang terlepas adalah dari nomor tunggal putri.
Prestasi yang diraih oleh para atlet Indonesia di SEA Games Kamboja 2023 sangat membanggakan bagi seluruh masyarakat Indonesia. Tidak hanya berhasil meraih medali emas, namun juga medali perak dan perunggu yang menunjukkan semangat dan kerja keras para atlet.
Pemerintah Indonesia memberikan apresiasi dan penghargaan yang setinggi-tingginya kepada para atlet Indonesia yang berhasil meraih medali di SEA Games Kamboja 2023. Prestasi ini diharapkan dapat memotivasi dan menginspirasi para atlet muda Indonesia untuk terus berprestasi di kancah internasional.
Selain itu, prestasi ini juga menunjukkan bahwa Indonesia memiliki potensi besar dalam bidang olahraga. Pemerintah Indonesia berkomitmen untuk terus mendukung dan memajukan dunia olahraga di Indonesia, baik dari segi pengembangan infrastruktur, pembinaan atlet, maupun penyelenggaraan event olahraga internasional.
Dengan prestasi yang diraih di SEA Games Kamboja 2023, Indonesia semakin dikenal sebagai negara yang memiliki potensi besar dalam bidang olahraga. Semoga prestasi ini dapat dijadikan motivasi bagi seluruh masyarakat Indonesia untuk terus mendukung dan memajukan dunia olahraga di Indonesia.
Saat menuju babak akhir perebutan perolehan medali SEA Games 2023, mulai tampak semakin ketat terutama diantaranya peringkat satu sampai empat yang dihuni Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia dan tuan rumah Kamboja.
Pada klasemen sementara perolehan medali SEA Games 2023 hari Minggu 14 Mei 2023, kontingen Indonesia masih berada di peringkat empat. namun, semakin dekat dengan posisi tiga yang dihuni tuan rumah Kamboja.
Dari data Minggu 14 Mei 2023 pukul 23:45 WIB malam , Tim Merah Putih berhasil mendapatkan tambahan 12 emas. Ini membuat total medali kini menjadi 70 emas, 60 perak, dan 80 perunggu.
Catatan itu juga menggeser posisi Kamboja. Tuan Rumah kini harus rela di peringkat empat dengan 65 emas, 61 perak, dan 103 perunggu.
Klasemen perolehan medali SEA Games 2023 hari ini Selasa, 16 Mei 2023 mengalami perubahan dimana kontingen Indonesia sukses meraih 86 medali emas.
Hari ini 16 Mei hingga pukul 18.50 WIB Tim Merah Putih berhasil memboyong 10 medali emas diantaranya cabang olahraga (cabor) badminton berhasil yang disumbangkan Lisa Ayu Kusumawati/Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto
Kemudian ganda putri Indonesia Febriana Dwi Puji Kusuma/Amalia Cahya Pratiwi dari cabor badminton. Atlet tunggal putra Christian Adinata dari cabor badminton.
Lalu ganda putra Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan dari cabor badminton. Kemudian Aero Sutan Aswar dari cabor jet ski nomor endurance runabout open.
Lalu Diandra Ariesta Pieter dari cabor kick boxing nomor women's kick light 55kg juga sukses menyumbangkan medali emas.
Selanjutnya Toni Kristian Hutapea dari cabor kick boxing nomor men's full contact 54kg. Kemudian tim Traditional Boat Race atau perahu naga Indonesia juga berhasil meraih medali emas di nomor Men's TBR 12 Crews (Open) 800m.
Tim voli pantai putra Indonesia juga sukses mempersembahkan medali emas di SEA Games 2023. Terakhir Randa Riandesta ikut menyokong medali emas dari cabor gulat nomor men's 79 kg freestyle.
Total klasemen sementara perolehan medali SEA Games 2023 hari ini, Indonesia mengoleksi 86 emas, 71 perak, dan 97 perunggu, dengan hasil itu Indonesia unggul jauh atau jauhi tuan rumah Kamboja di posisi keempat dengan 72 emas, 69 perak, dan 115 perunggu.
Peringkat pertama atau posisi puncak klasemen perolehan medali masih diduduki Vietnam. dengan total mengoleksi 295 medali terdiri dari 101 emas, 99 perak, dan 95 perunggu.
Posisi kedua ditempati oleh Thailand dengan perolehan total 279 medali terdiri dari 100 medali emas, 83 medali perak, dan 96 medali perunggu.
Ekspresi pelatih Indonesia, Indra Sjafri saat pemain dan ofisial Thailand setelah Yotsakon Burapha mencetak gol penyeimbang mereka di ujung babak kedua final sepak bola SEA Games 2023, Indonesia vs Thailand di Stadion Nasional Olimpiade, Phnom Penh, Kamboja, Rabu, 16 Mei 2023. Setidaknya tujuh kartu merah dikeluarkan wasit selama pertandingan. REUTERS/Cindy Liu
Sementara Kamboja di peringkat keempat dengan 72 medali Emas, 69 perak dan 115 perunggu.
Juara dalam perolehan medali SEA Games 2023 jatuh pada Vietnam yang berhasil mengumpulkan total 354 medali. Peringkat kedua dipegang oleh Thailand dengan 311 medali. Sementara, sang tuan rumah Kamboja harus puas berada di peringkat keempat perolehan medali SEA Games 2023 dengan total 281 medali.
Berikut ini klasemen medali SEA Games 2023. Posisi pertama dikuasai Vietnam, kemudian diikuti Thailand di peringkat kedua.
A bombshell report exposing the Federal Bureau of Investigation's rot and nixing the claim that the investigation into the alleged Trump-Russia "collusion" was well-predicated has finally been made public.
After more than three years of investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia "collusion" probe, the US Justice Department released Special Counsel John Durham's 306-page report to the public on Monday.
"Neither US 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," stated the special counsel.
On May 13, 2019, then-Attorney General William Barr tapped Durham, the United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, to look into the origins of the Trump-Russia inquiry, dubbed Operation Crossfire Hurricane, which was launched by the FBI on July 31, 2016. Then-President Donald Trump, who has for years denounced the bureau's probe as a "witch hunt", hailed the development.
In 2019, Durham expressed his dissent with regard to Inspector General Michael Horowitz's conclusion that the FBI's Operation Crossfire Hurricane was well-predicated. Durham announced that his office had "advised the inspector general that we do not agree with some of the report’s conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened."
He explained that, unlike Horowitz, his "investigation is not limited to developing information from within component parts of the Justice Department" and has instead obtained "information from other persons and entities, both in the US and outside of the US."
On October 19, 2020, Durham was appointed to serve as a special counsel to conduct the so-called "investigation of investigators."
During his probe, the special counsel charged and convicted FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted to doctoring an email to state that Trump aide Carter Page had never been a CIA asset (which was not true) in order to push ahead with spying on Team Trump.
Durham also brought charges against Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann and Brookings Institution scholar Igor Danchenko, the primary subsource for ex-MI6 agent Christopher Steele, the author of the "dirty dossier," for lying to the FBI.
Durham lost the latter two cases, but managed to shed light on the Clinton campaign's active role in peddling and disseminating the Trump-Russia "collusion" narrative, something that was proven to have no evidentiary basis by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team.
Crossfire Hurricane Opened Hastily on Uncorroborated Leads
In his 306-page report, Durham nailed the FBI for relying on evidence provided by the 2016 campaign of then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, including the uncorroborated Steele dossier, which had all the earmarks of political bias.
Even though these leads were "provided or funded (directly or indirectly) by Trump's political opponents" the bureau failed to "examine or question these materials and the motivations of those providing them," according to Durham.
"Our investigation also revealed that senior FBI personnel displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor towards the information that they received, especially information received from politically-affiliated persons and entities. This information in part triggered and sustained the Crossfire Hurricane and contributed to the subsequent need for Special Counsel Mueller's investigation," the special counsel wrote.
Moreover, the FBI did not interview the people who provided the information used to open the Crossfire Hurricane probe. In particular, the bureau hastened to open the initial probe based on uncorroborated evidence from Australia, the special counsel wrote, referring to Australian official Alexander Downer, the agency's source.
Neither did the bureau manage to corroborate any of the claims in the notorious Steele dossier. What's more, former British intelligence officer Steele couldn’t corroborate any of those claims, either, despite being offered a hefty sum of money by the FBI to do so. Steele's source – Brookings Institution scholar Igor Danchenko – compiled the claims for the dossier. However, like Steele, Danchenko couldn’t confirm any of the assumptions outlined in the document when questioned by the FBI, according to the special counsel.
"Rather, Danchenko characterized the information he provided to Steele as ‘rumor and speculation’ and the product of casual conversation," the report reads.
Furthermore, it turned out that Charles Dolan, a Democratic operative who has held multiple positions with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), could be the source behind one of the most outlandish rumors in the dossier, i.e. the fake story that Trump had been filmed with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel.
Dual System of Justice: Treating Hillary With Kid Gloves
Durham has also drawn attention to what he described as a dual system of justice: he pointed out that the FBI never opened a probe into the Hillary Clinton campaign, despite having the intelligence that the then-Democratic presidential nominee had allegedly authorized a campaign of smearing Trump as a Russian stooge.
In July 2016, CIA Director John Brennan briefed then-President Obama on intercepted intelligence saying that Hillary Clinton was going to cook up a scandal by tying her presidential rival Donald Trump to the Kremlin and alleged "Russian hackers" as a distraction from the controversy surrounding her private email server and mishandling of classified information.
"The FBI's actions with respect to other highly significant intelligence it received from a trusted foreign source pointing to a Clinton campaign plan to vilify Trump by tying him to Vladimir Putin so as to divert attention from her own concerns relating to her use of a private email server," the report said.
"The FBI's actions with respect to other highly significant intelligence it received from a trusted foreign source pointing to a Clinton campaign plan to vilify Trump by tying him to Vladimir Putin so as to divert attention from her own concerns relating to her use of a private email server," the report said.
"Unlike the FBI's opening of a full investigation of unknown members of the Trump campaign based on raw, uncorroborated information, in this separate matter involving a purported Clinton campaign plan, the FBI never opened any type of inquiry, issued any taskings, employed any analytical personnel, or produced any analytical products in connection with the information," the document continued.
Durham menunjukkan bahwa kurangnya tindakan ini terlepas dari fakta bahwa pentingnya intelijen rencana Clinton sedemikian rupa sehingga Brennan memutuskan untuk memberi tahu Obama, Wakil Presiden Joe Biden, dan pejabat senior pemerintah lainnya tentang hal itu dalam beberapa hari setelah diterimanya.
"Itu juga cukup penting bagi CIA untuk mengirim memorandum rujukan tertulis resmi kepada [FBI] Direktur [James] Comey dan Wakil Asisten Direktur Divisi Kontra Intelijen FBI Peter Strzok untuk pertimbangan dan tindakan mereka," tulis penasihat khusus itu.
FBI Operatives Threw Agency's Rules Down the Drain
The special counsel went on lambasting FBI operatives for neglecting the bureau's rules and maintaining apparent political bias towards then-presidential candidate Trump.
In particular, Strzok, who led the Crossfire Hurricane team and expressed disdain for Trump in his chatter with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, went around the counterintelligence chief of the FBI, Bill Priestap to keep the investigation going by getting the approval of then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
According to the report, Priestap revealed instances when Strzok shared information directly with McCabe (before Priestap could provide the information to McCabe himself) and used to disagree and go around him together with then-FBI lawyer Page. McCabe and Strzok were fired from the FBI in March and August 2018, respectively; Page resigned from the bureau in May 2018.
Much in the same vein, the bureau issued error-ridden applications to surveil Trump campaign associate Carter Page, as per the report. FBI agents applied to renew the FISA court warrants on Page despite acknowledging that they had no probable cause to do so.
"The FBI personnel also repeatedly disregarded important requirements when they continued to seek renewals of that FISA surveillance while acknowledging – then and in hindsight – that they did not genuinely believe there was probable cause to believe that the target was knowingly engaged in clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of foreign power," the report says.
Three Individuals Spied on Trump Campaign
According to the report, the bureau used three “confidential human sources,” to spy on and record Trump campaign advisers, including Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, and an unnamed senior foreign policy adviser.
Durham's team found that the FBI failed to disclose exculpatory statements, which were contained in recordings of Page and Papadopoulos, to the Justice Department (DOJ) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. In particular, Page’s taped statements discredited some odious claims in the Steele dossier, but the FBI failed to act on those leads, as per the special counsel.
Eventually, FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, who was found guilty of doctoring an email in order to renew a warrant to spy on Page, was convicted.
'FBI Failed to Uphold Its Mission of Strict Fidelity to Law'
Having condemned the bureau for not upholding its own standards, the special counsel noted that he "does not recommend any wholesale changes in the guidelines and policies that the Department and the FBI now have in place." According to him, "the answer is not the creation of new rules but a renewed fidelity to the old."
"The promulgation of additional rules and regulations to be learned in yet more training sessions would likely prove to be a fruitless exercise if the FBI’s guiding principles of ‘Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity’ aren’t engrained in the hearts and minds of those sworn to meet the FBI’s mission of ‘Protecting the American People and Upholding the Constitution of the United States'," the special counsel wrote.
"Based on the review of Crossfire Hurricane and related intelligence activities, we concluded the Department and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report," Durham emphasized.
Reaction to Durham's Report
The release of the much-anticipated Durham report prompted a lively debate across the US political spectrum.
“Wow! After extensive research, Special Counsel John Durham concludes the FBI never should have launched the Trump-Russia Probe!” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in the aftermath of the report's publication. “In other words, the American Public was scammed, just as it is being scammed right now by those who don’t want to see greatness for America!”
For his part, House Judiciary Committee Republican Chairman Jim Jordan tweeted about his plan to summon Special Counsel Durham for testimony next week.
The US mainstream press – that used to enthusiastically promote the Trump-Russia collusion hoax – expressed skepticism over Durham's work, claiming that his investigation ended as it began: "pointing to trees to obscure the forest." The US media summed up that the probe included several unsuccessful efforts to bring criminal charges against people "loosely linked to the Russia probe", insisting that Durham's final report contained no dramatic demonstration that IG Horowitz, who claimed that the FBI probe was well predicated, got something wrong.
As for the FBI, it rushed to announce that it had already made necessary corrections to fix errors exposed by the special counsel in his recent report.
"The conduct in 2016 and 2017 that Special Counsel Durham examined was the reason that current FBI leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time. Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented," the FBI's official statement said.
