A recent report from the CIA clarifies that its former leader aimed to “frame” President Donald Trump with biased conclusions regarding the Russia collusion narrative, as noted by a legal analyst on Wednesday.
Attorney Gregg Jarrett concurred with current CIA Director John Ratcliffe that a “political motive” influenced former Director John Brennan’s involvement in a 2016 report investigating unfounded links between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives attempting to sway the election. Last week, Ratcliffe unveiled a significant report asserting that Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, and other “political appointees” made considerable efforts to incorporate the discredited Steele dossier into their initial report concerning Russiagate.
Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, was contracted by Fusion GPS, an opposition research firm associated with Hillary Clinton’s campaign, to probe into allegations of connections between Trump and Russia. Trump and his allies have claimed that much of the unverified intelligence originated from Bruce Ohr, a former U.S. Justice Department official who is married to Nellie Ohr, an employee of Fusion GPS during the election period.
“The dossier was, of course, worthless. The FBI had largely discredited it even before Trump took office and dismissed its author, Christopher Steele, for providing false information as a confidential human source. However, the bureau concealed these inconvenient truths under then-Director James Comey and skillfully utilized the document as a weapon to attack the newly elected president,” Jarrett writes for Fox News.
Brennan, Comey, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper “conspired to tarnish Trump with what is undoubtedly the most unscrupulous tactic in political history,” he further states.
Insights from Ratcliffe’s report reveal new claims that Brennan disregarded career CIA agents who expressed skepticism about the connection between Trump and Russia. The report also alleges that Brennan isolated drafts of the report within the CIA, hindering the National Security Council and other intelligence agencies from accessing them.
The deputy director for analysis at the CIA cautioned Brennan in writing that the inclusion of the discredited dossier in any form endangered ‘the credibility of the entire paper.’ Brennan disregarded this warning. The narrative crafted by the former British spy aligned with the director’s pre-existing narrative that Trump had colluded with Russia,” Jarrett continues.
“This was a decision made by Obama, Comey, Clapper, and Brennan, stating ‘We’re going to undermine Trump,’” Ratcliffe summarizes in his report.
In 2023, special counsel John Durham determined that no such link between President Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian operatives ever existed.
On Tuesday, the FBI revealed that it has initiated a criminal investigation into Brennan, who has been accused by critics of misleading Congress in 2019 when he asserted that the Steele dossier was ‘not in any way used as the basis for the intelligence community’s assessment.’ Clapper, who may also be scrutinized as part of the investigation, provided nearly identical testimony, as noted by Jarrett.
Since departing from office, Brennan has taken on the role of a national security contributor at MSNBC, while Clapper has done the same at CNN. Comey has returned to private legal practice, writing books about his governmental experiences and delivering public speeches.
None of these individuals has faced prosecution for their alleged involvement in the scheme.
Jarrett concluded his opinion piece with the aspiration that the three men would eventually face trial.
“Unless those who unscrupulously exploited their significant power for political ends are held accountable, it will occur again. And again. The sole remedy for lawlessness is justice,” he asserts.