During a tense exchange at Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee, DOJ special counsel John Durham offered a searing comeback to Rep. Steve Cohen's, D-Tenn., cross-examination in which the lawmaker insisted that Durham had damaged his reputation by allegedly helping former President Donald Trump.
Durham dismissed the attack, claiming that he only cares about what people he respects, his family, and "my Lord" think about his reputation.
The retort earned applause by committee members and others in the room.
MEDIA RUSHES TO DISMISS DURHAM FINDINGS THAT FURTHER DEBUNKED BELOVED RUSSIAN COLLUSION NARRATIVE
The back and forth between Cohen and Durham occurred at the congressional hearing held to ask the special counsel about his recently published report concluding that the FBI should never have launched an investigation into alleged collusion between Trump and Russia ahead of the 2016 election.
In addition to the central claim, Durham’s report detailed inappropriate behavior among Democratic Party officials, U.S. intelligence agencies, and the media in order to get an investigation off the ground that proved to be a major distraction for the Trump administration throughout its term.
While questioning Durham, Cohen implied that his report was put forward to help Trump, and warned the special counsel that anyone who allies themselves with the former president has their reputation destroyed.
He began by slamming the report, saying, "I’ve tried to follow your report. Mr. Donald Trump, Jr. would’ve called it a nothingburger. You got no convictions, you got nothing! It was all set up to hurt the Mueller report – which was correct and was redacted – to hurt the Bidens and to help Trump."
The lawmaker then blasted Durham’s reputation, saying, "And you were a part of it. You have a good reputation. You had a good reputation, that’s why the two Democrats supported you. But the longer you hold onto Mr. Barr and this report that Mr. Barr gave you as special counsel, your reputation will be damaged, as everybody’s reputation who gets involved with Donald Trump is damaged."
He continued the lecture: "He’s damaged goods, there’s no good dealing with him cause you will end up on the bottom of a pyre."
Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, allowed Durham to respond. The special counsel torpedoed Cohen’s lecture, saying, "Yeah, my concern about my reputation is with the people who I respect, my family, and my Lord, and I'm perfectly comfortable with my reputation with them, sir!"
Jordan complimented the answer, saying, "Well said, God bless you," as others at the hearing applauded him.
