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Crossfire Hurricane (FBI investigation)

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Crossfire Hurricane was the code name for the counterintelligence investigation undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from July 31, 2016, to May 17, 2017, into links between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia and "whether individuals associated with [Trump's] presidential campaign were coordinating, wittingly or unwittingly, with the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election".[1] Trump was not personally under investigation until May 2017, when his firing of FBI director James Comey raised suspicions of obstruction of justice, which triggered the Mueller investigation.[2]

The investigation was officially opened on July 31, 2016, initially due to information on Trump campaign member George Papadopoulos's early assertions of Russians having damaging material on Trump's rival candidate Hillary Clinton which the Russians offered to anonymously release as assistance to the Trump campaign. From late July to November 2016, the joint effort between the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Agency (NSA) examined evidence of Russian meddling in the presidential election. The FBI's team enjoyed a large degree of autonomy within the broader interagency probe.

The FBI's work was taken over on May 17, 2017, by the Special Counsel investigation of 2017–2019, which eventually resulted in the Mueller Report. Mueller concluded that Russian interference occurred in a "sweeping and systematic fashion" and that there were substantial links between Russians and the Trump campaign, but the evidence available to investigators did not establish that the Trump campaign had "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government.

Trump and his allies repeatedly alleged that the Crossfire Hurricane investigation was opened on false pretenses for political purposes.[3] A subsequent review done by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, released in redacted form in December 2019, found no evidence that political bias against Trump tainted the initiation of the investigation,[4][5][6][7][8][9] but did find that the FBI made 17 errors or omissions in its FISA warrant applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court) for surveillance of former Trump aide Carter Page.[3][10]

On January 23, 2020, two of the four FISA warrants were declared invalid by the Department of Justice.[11] James E. Boasberg, a Washington D.C. federal judge, also said that surveillance collected against Page lacked a legal basis.[12] As a result of this and other issues that raised questions about the origins of Crossfire Hurricane, Attorney General William Barr assigned John Durham, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, to lead an investigation into Crossfire Hurricane.[13] On August 19, 2020, a former FBI attorney pleaded guilty to making a false statement stemming from his alteration of an email connected to one of the FISA warrant applications.[14][15] On October 19, 2020, Barr appointed Durham to be a Special Counsel, elevating the form of the investigation, in this probe.[16][17] Upon release of his final report, Durham did not recommend charges against any new individuals or recommend wholesale changes to how the FBI conducts controversial investigations. However, he criticized the FBI and Justice Department, stating that they "failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report" and argued that a full investigation never should have been launched, at odds with a 2019 Justice Department inspector general investigation.

  1. ^ Office of the Inspector General U.S. Department of Justice (December 9, 2019). "Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Investigation" (PDF). justice.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "AP FACT CHECK: Trump defense wrong about FBI investigation". Associated Press. January 28, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Oprysko, Caitlin (December 9, 2019). "Here are the Russia probe conspiracy theories debunked by the DOJ inspector general report". Politico. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "DOJ Watchdog On Russia Probe: No Evidence Of Bias, But Problems With Surveillance". NPR. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Swanson, Ian (December 11, 2019). "Horowitz: 'We found no bias' in decision to open probe". The Hill. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "Horowitz defends his Trump-Russia report but is "deeply concerned" about FBI's surveillance failures". CBS News. December 11, 2019. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTRelease was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Dilanian, Ken (December 10, 2019). "Barr thinks FBI may have acted in bad faith in probing Trump campaign". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  9. ^ Savage, Charlie; Goldman, Adam (December 11, 2019). "Withering Criticism of F.B.I. as Watchdog Presents Russia Inquiry Findings". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference reutersdec9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ David Shortell; Evan Perez (January 24, 202). "Two of four FISA warrants against Carter Page declared invalid". CNN. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  12. ^ Tau, Byron (January 23, 2020). "National Security: Justice Department Believes It Should Have Ended Surveillance of Trump Adviser Earlier". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  13. ^ Goldman, Adam; Savage, Charlie; Schmidt, Michael S. (May 13, 2019). "Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  14. ^ "FBI Attorney Admits Altering Email Used for FISA Application During "Crossfire Hurricane" Investigation" (Press release). Department of Justice. August 19, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Lucas, Ryan (January 29, 2021). "Ex-FBI Lawyer Sentenced To Probation For Actions During Russia Investigation". NPR.org. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  16. ^ Balsamo, Michael; Tucker, Eric (December 1, 2020). "Barr Appoints Special Counsel in Russia Probe Investigation". Associated Press. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  17. ^ Barr, William (October 19, 2020). "Appointment of Special Counsel to Investigate Matters Related to Intelligence Activities and Investigations Arising out of the 2016 Presidential Campaigns". Office of the Attorney General. Order No. 4878-2020. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020 – via Politico.

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