Washington, D.C.: US President Donald Trump has declassified a series of FBI documents related to the 2016 Russia investigation into his campaign, known as Crossfire Hurricane. The move is part of his continued efforts to expose what he calls a politically motivated attack against him.
The declassified materials include intelligence gathered by the US and NATO allies on Russian operatives, FBI surveillance records, internal DOJ and FBI communications, and interview notes with dossier author Christopher Steele. However, portions deemed highly sensitive, such as Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court orders, will remain classified.
Trump had originally ordered the declassification during the final days of his first term in January 2021, but the documents were never publicly released. The situation took a mysterious turn when an unredacted copy of the binder containing classified materials went missing, a fact first reported by CNN in 2023.
Defending the decision, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “This is an example of weaponized government against President Trump at its worst that must never be allowed to happen again.”
In a broader crackdown on his political adversaries, Trump also signed an executive order suspending security clearances and restricting federal building access for lawyers from the firm Jenner & Block, which had been involved in previous investigations against him.
The release of these documents is expected to reignite debates over the FBI’s handling of the Russia probe, which found that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to aid Trump’s 2016 election campaign. While the investigation confirmed Russian interference, it did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
