Top Obama-era intelligence officials admitted under oath that they had no empirical evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, despite publicly promoting the narrative of collusion, newly resurfaced House Intelligence Committee transcripts show.
The admissions, made in closed-door interviews from 2017 and 2018, echo the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who concluded in 2019 that no criminal coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives had been established.
The officials deposed included then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, and others.
No Direct Evidence of Collusion
“I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting/conspiring with the Russians,” Clapper testified. “There were concerns, but no hard evidence.”
Lynch similarly said she could not recall being briefed on any such evidence: “I can’t say that it existed or not.”
Rice, Power, and former deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes offered similar answers, each saying they had seen no direct intelligence confirming a conspiracy between Trump’s team and the Kremlin.
“There wasn’t anything smoking,” Rice told lawmakers. “I don’t recall intelligence that I would consider evidence to that effect.”
Power stated: “I am not in possession and didn’t absorb information that came from out of the intelligence community” suggesting collusion.
Rhodes said he saw “indications of potential coordination,” but no confirmed evidence.
Officials Aware of Clinton Plan to Tie Trump to Russia
According to declassified notes from CIA Director John Brennan, he briefed President Obama, then-Vice President Biden, Comey, Clapper, and Lynch on July 28, 2016, about intelligence suggesting that Hillary Clinton had approved a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisors to link Trump to Russian meddling in order to distract from her email scandal.
The memo was forwarded to the FBI as part of a “Counterintelligence Operational Lead,” under the project name “Crossfire Hurricane”—the code name for the Trump-Russia investigation launched just three days later, on July 31, 2016.
Despite being aware of the political origins of these claims, the FBI moved forward with the investigation and later used the unverified Steele dossier to obtain surveillance warrants on Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Steele Dossier’s Credibility Questioned
The now-infamous Steele dossier, funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee through law firm Perkins Coie, was flagged by intelligence officials as problematic from the start. A Justice Department inspector general report later revealed the FBI had “limited corroboration” for Steele’s claims, most of which could not be verified.
Still, FBI leadership pushed to include Steele’s reporting in the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) prepared for outgoing President Obama in early 2017. CIA officials objected, warning that doing so would “jeopardize the credibility of the entire paper.”
Despite these objections, Brennan advocated for its inclusion, citing its alignment with the narrative being pursued, even though he later testified to Congress that the CIA had opposed using the dossier in the ICA.
The dossier was ultimately mentioned only in a footnote—“Annex A”—in the final version of the assessment.
Investigations Into Brennan, Comey Underway
Now, former CIA Director Brennan and former FBI Director Comey are under federal investigation, Fox News Digital has learned from Justice Department sources. Both men are being probed for potential false statements to Congress and other misconduct related to the Russia probe.
One source described the duo’s interactions as part of a possible “conspiracy,” opening the door to a broader investigation.
The inquiry follows a criminal referral made in 2020 by then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, who declassified key documents related to the origins of the investigation into Trump.
While the full scope of the DOJ investigation remains unclear, sources confirmed that the FBI has opened a criminal case into Brennan, and a parallel investigation into Comey is ongoing. Neither has responded to requests for comment.
