UNITED STATES— On Wednesday, October 7, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced that he has given more than 1,000 pages of documents to the Justice Department to support the Durham probe.
Appointed by Attorney General William Barr, U.S. Attorney John Durham is reviewing the origins of the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
“At my direction, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has now provided almost 1,000 pages of materials to the Department of Justice in response to Mr. Durham’s document requests. I will continue to ensure the Intelligence Community’s responsiveness to the DOJ’s requests. We also look forward to supporting the DOJ in further declassifications consistent with their investigation,” said Ratcliffe in a statement.
The documents, which are heavily redacted, include handwritten notes from then CIA Director John Brennan who briefed President Barack Obama in 2016 on an unverified Russian intelligence report. The notes indicate “alleged approval by Hillary Clinton on July 28 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.”
President Trump tweeted: “All Russia Hoax Scandal information was Declassified by me long ago. Unfortunately for our Country, people have acted very slowly, especially since it is perhaps the biggest political crime in the history of our Country. Act!!!”
Clinton spokesman Nick Merill called the claims “baseless bulls–t.”
“It is appalling, his selective declassification of information that clearly is designed to advance the political interests of Donald Trump and Republicans who are aligned with him,” said Brennan when asked of Ratcliffe’s declassification on CNN.