> John Durham and Elon Musk both hoodwinked conservatives. > Former President Donald Trump once hailed Special Counsel John Durham, predicting he would uncover “the crime of the century” — the Clinton-funded Russia collusion hoax that sought to slander and undo Trump. After an over three-year investigation, the Durham probe was a disappointment to Trump and the millions who hoped that those behind the hoax, working within and with the government, would be brought to justice.  > In October 2022, the same month the Durham probe officially turned out to be a bust, Elon Musk acquired Twitter. From the onset, conservatives were optimistic, embracing Musk and praising him for his “free speech absolutism” rhetoric.  > Over the last couple of months, Musk has delivered on exposing and criticizing the old-guard Twitter for its corruption and discrimination via “The Twitter Files” — though even that has packed only a half-hearted punch, with Musk giving the files to largely less-experienced journalists and dripping them on his own platform, often during low-traffic hours such as a weekend night or Christmas Eve. All in all, Musk has proven to be hardly any better than his predecessors, deploying a punitive shadowbanning system and dolling out arbitrary suspensions and bannings. Just like Durham, Musk hoodwinked conservatives.