ACLJ Digs Deeper Into the "Russian Collusion" Hysteria With New FOIA Requests

In August, news broke that the White House Government Transparency Task Force had released 3 new FBI memos, revealing for the first time that the FBI predicated the obstruction case against President Trump – codenamed “Oxferd Comma” – on the debunked notion that President Trump was an asset of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

We’ve learned a lot over the years about how bad things had gotten inside the Obama/Biden DOJ and FBI. But with this news, it’s clear there’s still more to learn. We just sent our own record demand to the FBI to continue our own review.

According to one of the FBI memos, dated May 16, 2017, the FBI opened

a full investigation based on an articulable factual basis that reasonably indicates that [President Trump] may be or has been, wittingly or unwittingly, involved in activities for or on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation which may constitute violations of federal criminal law or threats to the national security of the United States.

Reports show the investigation was designated as a “sensitive” matter and “the least intrusive method to address the serious national security risk posed by the activities alleged.” Unbelievably, the goal was “to determine if President Trump . . . was directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes” and “whether President Trump . . . obstructed and/or conspired to obstruct any associated FBI investigation.”

What’s more, commentators are questioning whether the obviously misspelled word “Oxferd” in the phrase Oxferd Comma, was intentionally misspelled to decrease the odds of hits in records searches in follow-up investigations or even future FOIA requests. In other words, did they intentionally make it harder to find the records of their actions?

The memo was penned by the FBI’s counterintelligence division and approved by then-FBI General Counsel James Baker and then-Assistant Director for Counterintelligence William Priestap. It made clear their apparent concerns that Comey’s firing could have been connected to Russian influence and obstruction – never mind that records would later show Comey was fired on the merits because the DOJ believed he mishandled the Hillary Clinton email investigation, and the DOJ’s independent inspector general concluded that Comey “violated long-standing department practice and protocol” with his conduct in the Clinton case. No, not that. It had to have been Russian collusion.

We now know that both Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein were advised that the investigation had been launched. According to a memo, the FBI’s investigation prompted the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller by Rosenstein and a nearly two-year probe that “included the use of a variety of investigative techniques, to include grand jury subpoenas and interviews. Ultimately, after several years, millions of dollars, and baseless name-smearing on the international stage, Mueller’s March 2019 report infamously failed to “establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” The FBI’s investigation was officially closed on April 8, 2019.

And for emphasis, a subsequent investigation by Special Counsel John Durham – released in 2023 – concluded there was no basis for the FBI to even open the original Crossfire Hurricane investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion.

Our friend John Solomon reports that these FBI memos are being declassified by the White House Government Transparency Task Force as federal prosecutors investigate whether the FBI, DOJ, and intelligence agencies engaged in a conspiracy to violate the civil rights of President Trump and his associates through repeated baseless criminal investigations.

The ACLJ will do our part to help bring these records to the public. We’re demanding all records concerning the investigation, including what steps were taken in its approval, how the information they were using vetted for reliability, and how did it differ from the investigation called Crossfire Hurricane. We are also seeking:

• All records in the custody of Jeannie Rhee concerning Oxferd Comma, “Oxford Comma,” “Trump,” “Putin,” “Russian asset,” “Russian agent,” “Comey,” “obstruction,” “Crossfire Hurricane,” or “Razor.”

• All records in the custody of Andrew McCabe concerning Oxferd Comma, “Oxford Comma,” “Trump,” “Putin,” “Russian asset,” “Russian agent,” “Comey,” “obstruction,” “Crossfire Hurricane,” or “Razor.”

• All records in the custody of Rod Rosenstein concerning Oxferd Comma, including records showing when and how he was informed of the investigation and what information concerning its predicate or scope was provided to him.

We will keep you informed of what we find. Accountability takes work and you can be a part of the solution. Stand with us.

Take action with the ACLJ. Sign our petition and hold the Deep State accountable.