US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday directing the FBI to declassify files related to the crossfire hurricane investigation.
This probe, launched in 2016, aimed to determine whether members of Trump’s campaign had coordinated with Russia during the presidential election.
Following the order, Trump stated that the media would now have access to previously withheld information about the investigation.
ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
However, he questioned whether journalists would take an interest in reviewing the documents.
Trump said, “You probably won’t bother because you’re not going to like what you see. But this was total weaponisation. It’s a disgrace. It should have never happened in this country.
“But now you’ll be able to see for yourselves. All declassified.”
The FBI initiated the crossfire hurricane investigation on July 31, 2016, to examine whether Trump or his campaign members had engaged in collusion or coordination with Russia to influence the election.
The decision to open the investigation followed a July 28 meeting, where then-CIA Director John Brennan briefed ex-President Barack Obama about a proposal from one of Hillary Clinton’s campaign foreign policy advisors.
The proposal allegedly sought to “vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.”
At the time, Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president.
By January 2017, then-FBI Director James Comey informed Trump about a dossier, known as the Steele dossier, which contained unverified allegations regarding Trump’s alleged coordination with Russia.
The document played a key role in prompting the investigation.
The dossier was compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, and commissioned by Fusion GPS.
During the 2016 election cycle, Hillary Clinton’s campaign had hired Fusion GPS.
(Fox News)
ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE