GOP congressman can't believe Justice Department didn't help Trump win

Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX) over the weekend lamented that the delay of special counsel John Durham’s report on the Russia probe had somehow prevented the Nov. 3 election from being a “free and fair one.”

“Justice delayed is justice denied, and in this case, it’s an election that has been denied, a free and fair one anyway,” Gohmert told the conservative-leaning Newsmax TV on Saturday, adding that “what concerns me most is the Justice Department has not been handling it in a way that has brought people to justice.”

Attorney General William Barr first tasked Durham, a former U.S. attorney, to investigate the origins of the nearly two-year long Russia probe in May 2019, with a particular focus on agents who worked on that probe, dubbed “Crossfire Hurricane.” Trump has long insisted that the Russia investigation, which ultimately found numerous ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, as well as at least 10 possible instances of obstruction by Trump himself, was nothing more than a politically motivated witch-hunt meant to undermine his presidency.

Earlier this month it was revealed that, in October, Barr had elevated Durham to the role of special counsel overseeing the investigation, making it difficult for President-elect Joe Biden to dismiss him from the position.

Gohmert claimed on Saturday that a report from that probe should have been released six months ago.

“As I’ve said since June, every day that Durham delayed in bringing forth indictments was another day he was having a profound effect on this election,” he claimed.

Although the Texas lawmaker admitted that it was “too late” to change the November election votes now, he claimed baselessly that a Durham report would have shown how “the Biden family was involved.”

“…It would help show the public that there was wrongdoing by the very people that are now claiming that their people should be president,” he said.

There is no evidence currently of any widespread misconduct with regard to the Russia investigation. One former FBI lawyer involved with the probe pleaded guilty in August to falsifying an email used to obtain surveillance documents for Trump associate Carter Page, but claimed “he thought at the time he was inserting truthful information,” according to the Washington Post.

Gohmert slammed Durham and Barr earlier this month, telling them to “do your jobs” at a House Freedom Caucus news conference on Dec. 3.

“We’re coming down to the wire, and we have not had a proper job done by the Department of Justice, and certainly not by the FBI,” he said. “There’s been widespread evidence of fraud because people haven’t done their jobs.”

Barr had announced one day earlier that the Justice Department had found zero evidence to support claims of widespread voter fraud that would overturn Trump’s election defeat. Trump has since refused to say whether he has confidence in the attorney general, sidestepping questions on the matter publicly.

A staunch Trump ally, Gohmert has pushed a number of false and repeatedly debunked election fraud claims for weeks.

In November, he told Fox News that the election was “stolen” from Trump, insisting without proof that there were “more than 10,000 dead people confirmed in Michigan to have voted. That’s outrageous!”

“And we’re not talking about allegations. We’re talking about — it’s been confirmed that many, more than 10,000 dead people,” Gohmert continued.

The Republican congressman appeared to have been referring to an online rumor that claimed 14,000 dead people were found to have voted in Wayne County, Michigan, an area which includes Detroit. However that claim has since been definitively debunked by Michigan’s secretary of state.

“Ballots of voters who have died are rejected in Michigan, even if the voter cast an absentee ballot and then died before Election Day. Those who make claims otherwise are wrong, and the lists circulating claiming to show this is happening are not accurate,” Jocelyn Benson wrote in a statement.

As early as February, Gohmert was peddling lies about “illegal votes” in Texas that could end up hurting Trump.

“We don’t know how many tens of thousands of people will vote illegally in Texas,” he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Election officials from both the Democratic and Republican Parties have so far found zero evidence of widespread voter fraud.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.