Durham Report Sparks Calls for FBI Reform, New Poll Finds

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington on Jan. 29, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

In a recent online poll, a majority of respondents said that either Congress should step in to reform the FBI or that the agency should be shut down and rebuilt from scratch following the release of the Durham report.

The May 31 to June 2 Issues & Insights/TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics poll demonstrated that Americans are largely frustrated and angered with the FBI’s apparent politicization.

The participants were asked to choose from four potential actions to address the issues plaguing the FBI, ranging from taking no action to major reform for the agency.

The first option presented a mild approach, reading, “The FBI should be left alone, it has learned its lesson.” A mere 15 percent of Americans opted for this “do nothing” response.

The second proposed that Congress step in and “reform the FBI to prevent its interference in future elections.” This alternative garnered the highest overall support, with 39 percent of respondents favoring this approach.

The third and most drastic action put forth was to “shut down the FBI and rebuild it from scratch, as it cannot be trusted to perform its duties.” This option received 24 percent of the tally.

A significant portion of respondents, 22 percent, expressed uncertainty by selecting “Not sure.”

The poll suggests that the FBI is facing a serious crisis of confidence, and the opinion that the FBI necessitates significant reform was widely bipartisan. Among those who support congressional reform, 45 percent were Democrats, 39 percent were Republicans, and 32 percent were independents.

Regarding the more stringent measure of closing down the FBI and rebuilding it from scratch, Democrats showed less support, with only 14 percent in favor. In contrast, 37 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of independents supported this option.

The “do-nothing” option failed to receive even 20 percent support from any political party or affiliation. However, a higher proportion of Democrats (19 percent) preferred taking no action to completely shutting the FBI down and initiating a rebuild (14 percent).

The Durham report accused the FBI of intervening in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections by conducting an investigation without sufficient cause into collusion between the Donald Trump campaign and Russia.

The 306-page report was particularly harsh in its criticism of the FBI’s use of “raw, unanalyzed, and uncorroborated intelligence” in its investigation.

“As the more complete record now shows, there are specific areas of Crossfire Hurricane [the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign] activity in which the FBI badly underperformed and failed, not only in its duties to the public, but also in preventing the severe reputational harm that has befallen the FBI as a consequence of Crossfire Hurricane,” special counsel John Durham wrote in his report, concluding a four-year investigation.

The FBI didn’t immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.