Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassified documents on Tuesday showing that former CIA Director John Brennan briefed former President Barack Obama about the plan that Hillary Clinton allegedly approved to smear then-candidate Donald Trump to Russia as a way of distracting from her email scandal.
“Ratcliffe declassified Brennan’s handwritten notes – which were taken after he briefed Obama on the intelligence the CIA received – and a CIA memo, which revealed that officials referred the matter to the FBI for potential investigative action,” Fox News reported. “That referral was sent to then-FBI Director James Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok.”
A source that was familiar with the documents told Fox News that, despite claims from the media and Democrats, the information was not “Russian disinformation,” and the fact that Brennan reportedly briefed Obama on it is a sign that it was serious.
“This is not Russian disinformation. Even Brennan knew, or he wouldn’t be briefing the president of the United States on it,” the source said. “There is a high threshold to orally brief the president of the United States and he clearly felt this met that threshold.”
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell responded to the news by writing on Twitter: “Proof. @BarackObama @JoeBiden directed their administration to use the powers of government to attack @realDonaldTrump campaign and then transition. The Susan Rice email to herself after the Oval Office meeting was part of a coverup.”
Last week, Ratcliffe declassified documents that showed that Clinton was referred to the FBI for investigation for allegedly approving a plan to “stir up a scandal against” Trump by tying him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ratcliffe made that revelation and others in a letter he sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC), which highlighted the following three bullet points:
- 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 [John] 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 Comey 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.”
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