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2.32 MB

Extraction Summary

11
People
7
Organizations
3
Locations
3
Events
4
Relationships
5
Quotes

Document Information

Type: Government report excerpt
File Size: 2.32 MB
Summary

This document, an excerpt from a House Oversight report, argues against the narrative of Trump-Russia collusion, citing a lack of evidence and suggesting political bias in the FBI's 'Crossfire' investigation. It details pre-election efforts by figures like Harry Reid and media outlets to publicize the collusion story through letters to the FBI and reporting on the Steele dossier. The document is about the 2016 US presidential election and is not related to Jeffrey Epstein.

People (11)

Name Role Context
Mr. Mueller Special Counsel (inferred)
Mentioned as not having brought any collusion-related charges in the Trump-Russia investigation.
George Papadopoulos Target of investigation
Allegedly lured to London, where he drunkenly bragged about hearing of Russian dirt on Mrs. Clinton. The text suggest...
Mrs. Clinton Political Figure
The target of alleged 'dirt' from Russia promised to the Trump campaign.
Alexander Downer Former Australian diplomat
The source of information about George Papadopoulos. He admitted Papadopoulos never mentioned emails.
Mr. Trump Presidential Candidate
Central figure of the collusion investigation. The document argues the FBI should have informed him if his associates...
John Brennan CIA Director
Briefed Congress on the Trump-Russia narrative shortly after the 'Crossfire' investigation launch.
Mr. Comey FBI Director (inferred)
Briefed Congress with John Brennan and was the recipient of public letters from Harry Reid and Democratic House members.
Christopher Steele Author of dossier
Embarked on a 'media roadshow' to publicize his dossier on Trump-Russia connections.
Harry Reid Senate Minority Leader
Wrote public letters to Mr. Comey on Aug. 29 and Oct. 30, 2016, urging investigation and claiming Comey possessed 'ex...
Michael Isikoff Journalist
A Yahoo News reporter who, on Sept. 23, reported on Congressional briefings and the Steele dossier's allegations abou...
Carter Page Subject of allegations
Mentioned in connection with allegations from the Steele dossier reported by Michael Isikoff.

Timeline (3 events)

2016-08-29
The New York Times published a letter from Senator Harry Reid to Mr. Comey about alleged Trump-Russia connections.
USA
Post-Crossfire launch
CIA Director John Brennan and Mr. Comey briefed Congress, leading to leaks about the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.
Washington, D.C.
Pre-2016 Election
FBI initiated a counterintelligence investigation named 'Crossfire' into the Trump campaign's potential ties with Russia.
USA
FBI

Locations (3)

Relationships (4)

Alexander Downer Source of information George Papadopoulos
The text identifies Downer as 'The source of this information' regarding Papadopoulos's bragging in London.
Harry Reid Correspondent Mr. Comey
Reid wrote public letters to Comey on August 29 and October 30, 2016.
John Brennan Colleagues Mr. Comey
They briefed Congress together after the launch of the 'Crossfire' investigation.
Michael Isikoff Journalist reporting on subject Carter Page
Isikoff's Yahoo News report covered the Steele dossier's allegations regarding Carter Page.

Key Quotes (5)

"evidence of a direct connection between the Russian government and Donald Trump's presidential campaign"
Source
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Quote #1
"employed a number of individuals with significant and disturbing ties to Russia and the Kremlin."
Source
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Quote #2
"that the FBI assess whether connections between Trump campaign officials and Russian interests"
Source
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Quote #3
"to interfere with the U.S. presidential election."
Source
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Quote #4
"In my communications with you and other top officials in the national security community, it has become clear that you possess explosive"
Source
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Quote #5

Full Extracted Text

Complete text extracted from the document (3,029 characters)

No evidence has emerged of Trump-Russia collusion, and Mr. Mueller has yet to bring collusion-related charges against anyone. Evidence suggests one of his targets, George Papadopoulos, was lured to London, plied with the prospect of Russian information damaging to Mrs. Clinton, and taken to dinner, where he drunkenly bragged that he'd heard about such dirt but never seen it. These circumstances not only fail to suggest Mr. Papadopoulos committed a crime, they reek of entrapment. The source of this information, former Australian diplomat Alexander Downer, admits Mr. Papadopolous never mentioned emails, destroying any reasonable inference of a connection between the DNC hack and the Trump campaign.
Crossfire's progenitors thus ignored an obvious question: If Russia promised unspecified dirt on Mrs. Clinton but never delivered it, how would that amount to collusion with the Trump campaign? If anything, such behavior suggests an attempt to entice and potentially embarrass Mr. Trump by dangling the prospect of compromising information and getting his aides to jump at it.
Given the paucity of evidence, it's staggering that the FBI would initiate a counterintelligence investigation, led by politically biased staff, amid a presidential campaign. The aggressive methods and subsequent leaking only strengthen that conclusion. If the FBI sincerely believed Trump associates were Russian targets or agents, the proper response would have been to inform Mr. Trump so that he could protect his campaign and the country.
Mr. Trump's critics argue that the claim of political bias is belied by the fact that Crossfire was not leaked before the election. In fact, there were vigorous, successful pre-election efforts to publicize the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. Shortly after Crossfire's launch, CIA Director John Brennan and Mr. Comey briefed Congress, triggering predictable leaking. Christopher Steele and his patrons embarked on a media roadshow, making their dossier something of an open secret in Washington.
On Aug. 29, 2016, the New York Times published a letter to Mr. Comey from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, saying he'd learned of "evidence of a direct connection between the Russian government and Donald Trump's presidential campaign," which had "employed a number of individuals with significant and disturbing ties to Russia and the Kremlin." On Aug. 30, the ranking Democratic members of four House committees wrote a public letter to Mr. Comey requesting "that the FBI assess whether connections between Trump campaign officials and Russian interests" may have contributed to the DNC hack so as "to interfere with the U.S. presidential election." On Sept. 23, Yahoo News's Michael Isikoff reported the Hill briefings and the Steele dossier's allegations regarding Carter Page. On Oct. 30, Harry Reid again publicly wrote Mr. Comey: "In my communications with you and other top officials in the national security community, it has become clear that you possess explosive
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