President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday night that he authorized the declassification of all documents relating to the “Russia Hoax” and likewise for any documents relating to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Trump tweeted, “I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!”
I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions! https://t.co/GgnHh9GOiq
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
In a second tweet, Trump said, “All Russia Hoax Scandal information was Declassified by me long ago. Unfortunately for our Country, people have acted very slowly, especially since it is perhaps the biggest political crime in the history of our Country. Act!!!”
All Russia Hoax Scandal information was Declassified by me long ago. Unfortunately for our Country, people have acted very slowly, especially since it is perhaps the biggest political crime in the history of our Country. Act!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
Trump’s tweets came hours after Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe released a redacted version of September 2016 notes former CIA director John Brennan wrote upon briefing then-President Barack Obama about candidate Hillary Clinton’s purported “plan” to create a controversy alleging ties between then-candidate Trump to Russia. Fox News obtained copies of the documents released by Ratcliffe on Tuesday.
Brennan’s notes state, “We’re getting additional insight into Russian activities from [REDACTED]. CITE [summarizing] alleged approved by Hillary Clinton a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.”
Ratcliffe also declassified portions of a memo sent to then-FBI Director James Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok.
“Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,” the memo states. “An exchange [REDACTED] discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.”
Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel spent nearly two years investigating Russian election interference and allegations of collusion between Trump and Russia. Mueller’s Special Counsel report and a subsequent Senate report have established no collusion between Trump and Russia.
Ratcliffe’s move to release the documents came a week after he issued a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), describing the intelligence findings, including an insight gained by U.S. intelligence officials of a Russian intelligence analysis suggesting they had knowledge of Clinton’s alleged plan to “stir up a scandal against U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump by tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee.”
At the time, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee questioned the political motives of Ratcliffe’s so close before the November presidential election, and his spokeswoman Rachel Cohen accused Ratcliffe of spreading Russian disinformation. Ratcliffe responded at the time that the documents were not Russian disinformation and that he would be briefing Congress on the sensitive sources and methods used to obtain the intelligence findings in the coming days.
