Immediate Declassification of Materials Related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation

Memorandums

TLDR

This executive memorandum directs the immediate declassification and public release of materials related to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into possible coordination between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, with certain exceptions to be determined by the Attorney General.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to declassify materials related to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. This order directs the immediate declassification of all materials referenced in the January 19, 2021 Presidential Memorandum, with certain exceptions. The Attorney General is instructed to make these declassified materials available to the public immediately, subject to specific restrictions.

The Crossfire Hurricane investigation was a counterintelligence operation launched by the FBI on July 31, 2016. Its purpose was to investigate whether individuals associated with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the election.

Key aspects of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation include:

  1. It was triggered by information from a foreign government about George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign adviser.
  2. The investigation initially focused on four individuals: George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, and Carter Page.
  3. The controversial Steele dossier, containing unverified claims about Trump’s alleged collaboration with Russia, played a significant role in the investigation.
  4. The investigation has been a subject of intense scrutiny and political debate, with Trump describing it as a politically motivated effort to undermine his presidency.

An Inspector General report in 2019 found that while there were some procedural errors, the investigation was opened with proper authorization and without political bias. However, the report also highlighted the need for improved oversight in cases involving political campaigns.

This executive order represents Trump’s continued efforts to expose what he views as misconduct in the original investigation, potentially aiming to vindicate his long-standing claims about the nature of the Russia probe.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

SUBJECT: Immediate Declassification of Materials Related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:

Except as provided below, I have determined that all of the materials referenced in the Presidential Memorandum of January 19, 2021 (Declassification of Certain Materials Related to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation), are no longer classified.

I have further determined that the material proposed for redaction by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in a cover letter dated January 17, 2021, remains classified.

My decision to declassify the materials described above does not extend to materials that must be protected from disclosure pursuant to orders of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and does not require the disclosure of certain personally identifiable information or any other materials that must be protected from disclosure under applicable law.

Subject to the exceptions identified above, the Attorney General shall make declassified materials described in this memorandum available to the public immediately.

DONALD J. TRUMP