Saturday, October 16, 2021

Justice Department hasn't released Russia documents Trump ordered declassified on last day

Two top Republican senators are demanding answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland because the Justice Department has failed to release anything in the "Binder" of Crossfire Hurricane documents that former President Donald Trump ordered declassified during his last day in office.

Trump said he would "Accept the redactions proposed for continued classification by the FBI" and ordered the rest of the documents to be declassified and made available by the Justice Department.

STEELE IS "OUT OF THE SHADOWS" FOR INTERVIEW. Grassley and Johnson's letter noted they first requested an update on when a "Full and complete set of declassified records would be provided to Congress" back on Feb. 25, and they contended that since then, they had had "Countless emails and phone calls requesting updates on your office's efforts to follow through on President Trump's declassification directive, to which your office has consistently failed to provide any substantive update." The senators added that the DOJ "Has not produced a single declassified record to Congress and the American people."

Mueller's team released a report in April 2019 that said investigators "Identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign" but "Did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report in December 2019 that criticized the Justice Department and the FBI for 17 "Significant errors and omissions" related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants against former Trump campaign associate Carter Page and for the bureau's reliance on British ex-spy Christopher Steele's discredited and Democratic-funded dossier.

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassified handwritten notes from former CIA Director John Brennan in October showing he briefed then-President Barack Obama in 2016 on an unverified Russian intelligence report claiming former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned in July 2016 on tying then-candidate Trump to Russia's hack of the Democratic National Committee to distract from her improper use of a private email server.

Ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith pleaded guilty to editing an email fraudulently to say former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page was "Not a source" for the CIA, and Durham recently indicted Democratic cybersecurity lawyer for allegedly misleading the FBI when pushing claims about a secret back channel between a Russian bank and the Trump Organization.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/justice-department-hasnt-released-russia-documents-trump-ordered-declassified-on-last-day 

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