According to Fox News, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) declassified information indicating that former President Obama’s administration knew of allegations that former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was attempting to tie Trump to the Russia and distract from her email scandal before the 2016 presidential election.
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe informed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that the prior administration obtained Russian intelligence in July of 2016 with allegations against Hillary Clinton, but cautioned that the intelligence community (IC) “does not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication.”
UNCLASSIFIED
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
WASHINGTON, DC
SEP 29 2020
The Honorable Lindsey Graham
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Chairman Graham,
In response to your request for Intelligence Community (IC) information related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Crossfire Hurricane Investigation, I have declassified the following:
- In late July 2016, U.S. intelligence agencies obtained insight into Russian intelligence analysis alleging that U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had approved a campaign 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. The IC does not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication.
- According to his handwritten notes, former Central Intelligence Agency Director Brennan subsequently briefed President Obama and other senior national security officials on the intelligence, including the “alleged approval by Hillary Clinton on July 26, 2016 of a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisors to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services.”
- On 07 September 2016, U.S. intelligence officials forwarded an investigative referral to FBI Director James Corney and Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok regarding “U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private mail server.”
As referenced in his 24 September 2020 letter to your Committee, Attorney General Barr has advised that the disclosure of this information will not interfere with ongoing Department of Justice investigations. Additional declassification and public disclosure of related intelligence remains under consideration; however, the IC welcomes the opportunity to provide a classified briefing with further detail at your convenience.
Respectfully,
John Ratcliffe
UNCLASSIFIED
The Honorable Lindsey Graham
Cc:
The Honorable Diane Feinstein
The Honorable Marco Rubio
The Honorable Mark R. Warner
The Honorable Adam Schiff
The Honorable Devin Nunes
Below is the original letter in PDF format of the Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliff’s letter to Senator Graham on the Declassification of FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation.
