Newly declassified documents show the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a 2017 investigation into President Donald J. Trump based on discredited allegations of collusion with Russia, despite warnings from their own agents.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated President Donald J. Trump on false allegations after the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. 📺 DETAIL: In May 2017, the FBI opened a criminal investigation, codenamed “Oxferd Comma,” which investigated President Trump on allegations that he was a Russian asset. The investigation was launched after the President dismissed former FBI Director James Comey. The investigation was launched despite no evidence of collusion between President Trump and Russia. According to declassified records, the claims that launched the FBI’s investigation into the President originated from the Steele Dossier, a political opposition report funded by the Clinton for President campaign, released earlier that same year. The dossier contained claims that had already been disproven and dismissed, even by the FBI’s own agents. Despite this, the investigation was approved by senior FBI officials. The probe led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose two-year investigation failed to substantiate any claims of collusion. It was later revealed that FBI agents Peter Strzok and William Barnett expressed doubts at the time regarding the validity of the claims before the investigation began. In 2023, Special Counsel John Durham’s report concluded that the FBI’s Russia collusion probe was unfounded and criticized the FBI for bias. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “I hesitate in part because of my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.” – Peter Strzok, FBI Deputy Assistant Director, in a 2017 text message regarding the investigation 🎯 IMPACT: These declassified records suggest that the FBI was determined to conclude that President Trump was a Russian asset despite a lack of evidence and pushback from agency personnel. Significantly, the investigation into claims of collusion between the President and Russia heavily disrupted the early years of the first Trump administration. The investigation heightened partisan divisions and deepened distrust of the Intelligence Community. They show that perceptions of the Intelligence Community as excessively scrutinizing President Trump without a solid foundation to do so were warranted, raising concerns about the weaponization of the federal government and its agencies. 📺 FLASHBACK: In April this year, Comey was indicted for a social media post featuring seashells arranged to form the numbers ‘86 47.’ ‘86’ is slang for remove or kill, while ‘47’ almost certainly refers to President Trump, the 47th U.S. President. |
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