In a recent exposé titled “CIA has foreign allies spy on Trump Team, triggering Russia Collusion Hoax”, investigative journalists Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, and Alex Gutentag revealed a startling narrative of manipulation and clandestine operations within the United States Intelligence Community (IC). The report unearthed a web of deceit orchestrated by high-ranking officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan, who mobilized foreign intelligence agencies to surveil associates of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, subsequently fueling the infamous Russia collusion narrative.
The saga begins with a revelation that Brennan and other intelligence chiefs were not only aware of the concocted nature of the Russian collusion narrative but actively sought to shield its origins and disseminate it to investigators. This revelation sheds light on the extent to which intelligence agencies were willing to go to undermine the legitimacy of the 2016 presidential election.
Central to the narrative is the involvement of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance, comprising the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. These allies were allegedly enlisted to conduct surveillance on Trump’s associates, with the obtained intelligence shared among US agencies. This collaboration underscores the global reach and coordination of efforts aimed at subverting the Trump campaign.
According to the article which was published on Shellenberger’s Substack,
“Until now, the official story has been that the FBI’s investigation began after Australian intelligence officials told US officials that a Trump aide had boasted to an Australian diplomat that Russia had damning material about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton”.
John Brennan had identified 26 Trump associates for the Five Eyes to target. A source confirmed that the IC had “identified [them] as people to ‘bump’, or make contact with or manipulate. They were targets of our own IC and law enforcement — targets for collection and misinformation,” the report noted.
A source said that “[t]hey were making contacts and bumping Trump people going back to March 2016”, and “sending people around the UK, Australia, Italy — the Mossad in Italy. The MI6 was working at an intelligence school they had set up”.
British intelligence sources began targeting Trump on behalf of American intelligence agencies possibly as early as 2015, the report said.
Several media outlets had previously reported that the British Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, had discovered “alleged ties between Trump and the Russian government”.
UK outlet The Guardian, however, claimed that “GCHQ was at no point carrying out a targeted operation against Trump or his team or proactively seeking information. The alleged conversations were picked up by chance as part of routine surveillance of Russian intelligence assets. Over several months, different agencies targeting the same people began to see a pattern of connections that were flagged to intelligence officials in the US”.
The Guardian’s claim in wrong, according to the February 13 report.
Shellenberger, Taibbi, and Gutentag’s sources, who were familiar with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s investigation (HPSCI), said “In truth, the US IC asked the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance to surveil Trump’s associates and share the intelligence they acquired with US agencies”.
One of the Trump associates who was targeted was foreign policy advisor Carter Page, for whom the FBI admitted that it should not have sought a FISA warrant to wiretap.
A source said IC officials targeted Page because they viewed him as inexperienced.
“You look at some of the people who were there”, the person said. “They weren’t sophisticated or experienced at disinformation or at [dealing with] IC people planting ideas or befriending you”.
The first of the targets by the IC appeared to be former Defense Intelligence Agency head Michael Flynn, who would go on to be Trump’s National Security Advisor.
Stefan Halper, a Cambridge academic and a “confidential human source”, approached Flynn in March of 2016. He approached at least four Trump targets, and was paid US$411,575.
“The Stefan Halper story is ridiculous,” a source said. “He was the consultant to write papers that really weren’t papers and paid inflated sums like US$400,000… He was conducting bumps and intel contacts”.
Trump aide George Papadopoulos was approached by Maltese professor Josef Mifsud, who House Democrats on the Intelligence Committee claimed was “Kremlin-linked”. A source said that Mifsud was instead “a professor who really worked for MI6”.
HPSCI investigators attempted to get their report declassified before Trump left office, but the CIA was reportedly not cooperative, and “rebuffed” them “at every turn,” a source told the three journalists.
Meanwhile, it may be mentioned here that Special Counsel John Durham’s final report, which names all of the major players in the scheme yet took no action against them, said that, in late July 2016, the intelligence community received intelligence that Clinton planned to “vilify” Trump by linking him to Russia to distract from her private server scandal.
The intelligence was so “significant” that Brennan reported on it to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and others at the White House on July 28, 2016, just days after receiving it.
The next morning, on July 29, 2016, Brennan briefed FBI Director James Comey on the White House meeting. After speaking with Comey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, he and other CIA officials tried to limit the spread of the Clinton plan intelligence, Durham’s report said.
Durham wrote:
“Immediately after communicating with the President, Comey, and Clapper to discuss relevant intelligence, Director Brennan and other agency officials took steps to ensure that dissemination of intelligence related to Russia’s election interference efforts, including the Clinton Plan intelligence, would be limited to protect sensitive information and prevent leaks.
“Brennan stated that the inter-agency Fusion Cell, a team to synthesize and analyze pertinent intelligence on Russian malign influence activities related to the presidential election, was put in motion after his meeting with President Obama on July 28th. Email traffic and witness interviews conducted by the Office reflect that at least some CIA personnel believed that the Clinton Plan intelligence led to the decision being made to set up the Fusion Cell”.
Despite having this intelligence, the FBI launched the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into the Trump campaign, which then morphed into a special counsel investigation.
Clinton’s involvement in the hoax remained unknown to the public until October 2017, when it was revealed by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes who uncovered Clinton’s involvement in creating the “pee dossier” that claimed collusion between Trump and Russia.
Meanwhile, a House committee found that, after perpetuating the Trump-
Russia collusion hoax through 2019, Brennan and Clapper orchestrated a new scheme to help Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race by claiming the New York Post’s bombshell report on the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation.
According to May 2023 report by the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, Brennan and Clapper were intimately involved in crafting a statement for the public suggesting that the Post’s story was Russian disinformation just weeks before the 2020 election.
The committee’s report revealed that then-Biden campaign adviser Antony Blinken had contacted former Deputy CIA Director Michael Morell after the Post’s story broke. Morell testified to the committee that Antony Blinken’s call triggered him to write a statement suggesting the story was Russian disinformation even though there was no evidence of that.
It may be mentioned here that the report highlights the existence of a classified binder containing crucial details about the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign and raw intelligence gathered by the IC. Despite efforts to declassify this binder, its contents remain shielded from public scrutiny, raising questions about the potential violations of law and ethics within the intelligence community.
Of particular interest is the revelation that the FBI targeted individuals within the Trump campaign based on dubious grounds, such as the inexperience of certain associates like Carter Page. The utilization of foreign assets, including academics like Stefan Halper and Josef Mifsud, further exposes the intricate nature of the surveillance operation.
Moreover, the report challenges previous assertions by media outlets regarding the involvement of British intelligence agencies, suggesting a more proactive role in targeting Trump on behalf of their American counterparts. This revelation contradicts claims that surveillance activities were incidental and raises concerns about the extent of foreign interference in domestic politics.
The narrative culminates with the revelation that despite possessing intelligence implicating Hillary Clinton in a scheme to vilify Trump, the FBI proceeded with the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which eventually led to a special counsel probe. This decision, coupled with subsequent efforts to downplay Clinton’s involvement, underscores the politicization of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
The aftermath of the Russia collusion hoax extends beyond the 2016 election, as evidenced by efforts to perpetuate false narratives and manipulate public opinion in subsequent years. The involvement of high-ranking officials like Brennan and Clapper in orchestrating new schemes to influence the 2020 presidential race further underscores the systemic issues within the intelligence community.
As the dust settles on these revelations, the need for accountability and transparency within the intelligence community becomes increasingly apparent. The failure to hold individuals responsible for their actions not only undermines public trust but also threatens the very foundations of democracy.
The exposé sheds light on the intricate web of deceit and manipulation that characterized the Russia collusion hoax. From the orchestration of surveillance operations to the suppression of incriminating evidence, the narrative exposes the systemic failures within the intelligence community. Moving forward, it is imperative that steps are taken to restore integrity and accountability to these vital institutions, lest history repeat itself.
