Fresh revelations from the government’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation—the probe into alleged “Trump-Russia collusion”—have unveiled a bombshell development involving top Obama-era officials.
A newly declassified memo, released Friday by Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, shows U.S. intelligence agencies privately concluded in 2016 that Russia did not play a meaningful role in Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton.
But the disclosures don’t stop there. Investigative reporter Paul Sperry of Real Clear Investigations reported on X that newly unearthed texts and emails reveal direct coordination between the Obama White House and Clinton’s campaign aides in a July 2016 push to link Trump to Vladimir Putin.
“DEVELOPING: I’m told there are texts/emails indicating Hillary Clinton campaign aides directly coordinated with the Obama White House, NSC, State Dept and Intelligence Community officials in efforts to dig up dirt tying Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin … developing,” Sperry wrote.
The declassified memo is the clearest acknowledgment yet that U.S. officials doubted Russia’s influence even as they advanced the investigation. Addressed directly to President Barack Obama, the 2016 report bluntly stated:
- “Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure.”
- Attempts to breach voter rolls in Illinois and probe other states never compromised ballots or altered results.
- “The targeting of infrastructure not used in casting ballots makes it highly unlikely it would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote.”
The findings mark a major vindication for Trump, who has long maintained the Russia-collusion narrative was a political weapon devised by the Clinton campaign and carried out by Obama’s intelligence chiefs to undermine his presidency.
Now, the spotlight is shifting to the officials who drove the probe.
FBI sources suggest criminal inquiries could soon target former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, and others central to the Crossfire Hurricane operation. Intelligence insiders say Brennan withheld critical information from other agencies and pushed aggressively to include the discredited Steele dossier—fabricated allegations tying Trump to Moscow—in official assessments.
Meanwhile, a 200-page congressional audit, prepared after a classified DOJ-intelligence meeting last weekend, is under review. Officials are weighing further declassifications, including notes from Crossfire Hurricane and transcripts from special counsel John Durham’s investigation, which concluded in 2023 that the Trump-Russia theory was baseless.
Gabbard’s release is viewed as the opening salvo in a broader transparency push. Questions are also swirling over whether Brennan misled Congress in sworn testimony when he denied relying on the Steele dossier. While the statute of limitations on perjury may have passed, prosecutors are exploring possible conspiracy charges.
“Obama ordered the ICA to set Trump up and knock him off balance before he could even get started,” a senior official alleged. “This was an influence op far bigger than anything Putin pulled off. Obama and Hillary schemed it, and the CIA and FBI executed it.”
Comey, too, remains under scrutiny. His cryptic social media posts earlier this year reportedly prompted a Secret Service visit, fueling speculation about his role and lingering fears of a deeper cover-up.