Declassified Election-Related Emails Portray FBI as 'Broken Institution'
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Recently declassified documents pertaining to purported Chinese interference in the 2020 presidential election portray the FBI as a "broken institution," according to a top Senate Republican.
Newsweek reached out to the bureau via email for comment on Tuesday.
Why It Matters
In mid-June, FBI Director Kash Patel declassified documents that "detail alarming allegations" about potential Chinese interference in the Donald Trump-Joe Biden election. The documents were then shared for review with Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican and chair of the Judiciary Committee.
China has denied any nefarious involvement in swaying the election results in 2020, and again in 2024. Allies of President Trump have alleged that China rigged the 2020 results in former President Biden's favor, invigorating hardcore supporters to march on the Capitol, leading to the siege of January 6, 2021.
What To Know
On Tuesday, Grassley released internal FBI emails that he claims reveal how the agency "suppressed intelligence of alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election to insulate then-FBI Director Christopher Wray from criticism," after he "provided inaccurate and contradictory testimony to Congress."
"These records smack of political decision-making and prove the Wray-led FBI to be a deeply broken institution," Grassley said in a statement. "Ahead of a high-stakes election happening amid an unprecedented global pandemic, the FBI turned its back on its national security mission.
"One way or the other, intelligence must be fully investigated to determine whether it's true, or if it's just smoke and mirrors. Chris Wray's FBI wasn't looking out for the American people—it was looking to save its own image. Now's the time to rebuild the FBI's trust."
Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on his nomination to become FBI director, on July 12, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on his nomination to become FBI director, on July 12, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Grassley spokesperson Clare Slattery told Newsweek that the senator "draws no conclusions as to any potential impact these allegations may have had on the election."
"Grassley's release is exposing the Wray FBI for failing to properly investigate this allegation due to a political calculation," Slattery said. "He is not drawing conclusions as to the veracity of the claims—that is for the FBI to do."
The release of these new redacted emails is directly correlated to Patel saying last month that the Chinese Communist Party and potentially others are alleged to have been involved in interfering with the 2020 election outcome by manufacturing fake driver's licenses for the purpose of facilitating fraudulent mail-in ballots, Slattery said.
Grassley said that what is being suppressed is an Intelligence Information Report (IIR) from the FBI's Albany Field Office on September 25, 2020, which contained information from an FBI Confidential Human Source (CHS) alleging the Chinese government's production of "tens of thousands" of fraudulent driver's licenses to benefit then-presidential candidate Biden.
The CHS was reinterviewed and their allegations purportedly backed the initial IIR's findings. An FBI Albany official described the source as "competent" and "authentic in his/her reporting," per emails, with a high level of confidence in the "9-10 range."
The allegations, according to the FBI, showed signs of credibility but were not fully investigated due to the bureau's sudden and "abnormal" decision to halt the probe. Other FBI field offices and members within the intelligence community were disallowed from accessing or studying the IIR.
The FBI's stated reason for doing so was because "the reporting will contradict Director Wray's testimony."
What People Are Saying
Wray, during sworn testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on September 24, 2020: "We take all election-related threats seriously, whether it is voter fraud, voter suppression, whether it is in person, whether it is by mail. And our role is to investigate the threat actors. Now, we have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it is by mail or otherwise. ... [B]ut people should make no mistake we are vigilant as to the threat and watching it carefully, because we are in uncharted new territory."
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino posted to X: "We typically work behind the scenes in this space, but we understand we need to rebuild your trust in the FBI and learn from past mistakes. That's why we have declassified and shared with Congress thousands of pages of documents related to our counterintelligence work, and it's why we're continuing to release as much as we can to the public."
What Happens Next
It remains unclear what further events to which the declassified documents could lead. Grassley's office did not say whether future hearings could be called to have Wray, members of the FBI or whistleblowers testify.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's budget bill is closer to becoming law - here are the remaining sticking points
Donald Trump's massive tax and spending budget bill is returning to the US House of Representatives - as the clock ticks down to the president's 4 July deadline for lawmakers to present him with a final version that can be signed into law. The bill narrowly cleared the Senate, or upper chamber of Congress, on Tuesday. Vice-President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote after more than 24 hours of debate and resistance from some Republican senators. It could prove equally tricky for Trump's allies to pass the bill through the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson hopes to hold a vote as early as Wednesday. The lower chamber approved an earlier version of the bill in May with a margin of just one vote, and this bill must now be reconciled with the Senate version. Both chambers are controlled by Trump's Republicans, but within the party several factions are fighting over key policies in the lengthy legislation. Sticking points include the question of how much the bill will add to the US national deficit, and how deeply it will cut healthcare and other social programmes. During previous signs of rebellion against Trump at Congress, Republican lawmakers have ultimately fallen in line. Facing intense pressure, House must decide if Trump's bill is good enough What's in Trump's budget bill? Trump and Musk feud again over budget plans The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the version of the bill that was passed on Tuesday by the Senate could add $3.3tn (£2.4tn) to the US national deficit over the next 10 years. That compares with $2.8tn that could be added by the earlier version that was narrowly passed by the House. The deficit means the difference between what the US government spends and the revenue it receives. This outraged the fiscal hawks in the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who have threatened to tank the bill. Many of them are echoing claims made by Elon Musk, Trump's former adviser and campaign donor, who has repeatedly lashed out at lawmakers for considering a bill that will ultimately add to US national debt. Shortly after the Senate passed the bill, Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina, a Freedom Caucus member, called the move "unconscionable". "What the Senate did, I'll vote against it here and I'll vote against it on the floor," he added. Norman's colleague from Texas, Chip Roy, was also quick to signal his frustration. "I think the odds are a hell of a lot lower than they were even 48 hours ago or 72 hours ago based on the deal-cutting that I just saw," Roy said in response to a question about meeting Trump's 4 July deadline. Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris of Tennessee told Fox News that "a group of us are not going to vote to advance the bill until we iron out some of the deficit problems". "Mr Musk is right, we cannot sustain these deficits," Harris continued. "He understands finances, he understands debts and deficits, and we have to make further progress." On Tuesday, Conservative Congressman Andy Ogles went as far as to file an amendment that would completely replace the Senate version of the bill, which he called a "dud", with the original House-approved one. Meanwhile, Ohio Republican Warren Davison posted on X: "Promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending." He added: "We will eventually arrive at the crash site, because it appears nothing will stop this runaway spending train. A fatal overdose of government." Beyond fiscal hawks, House Republican leadership will also have to contend with moderates in their party who represent more liberal-leaning states and key swing districts that helped the party rise to power in the November election. "I've been clear from the start that I will not support a final reconciliation bill that makes harmful cuts to Medicaid, puts critical funding at risk, or threatens the stability of healthcare providers," said Congressman David Valadao, who represents a swing district in California. This echoes the criticism of opposition Democrats. Other Republicans have signalled a willingness to compromise. Randy Fine, from Florida, told the BBC he had frustrations with the Senate version of the bill, but that he would vote it through the House because "we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good". Representatives from poorer districts are worried about the Senate version of the bill harming their constituents, which could also hurt them at the polls in 2026. According to the Hill, six Republicans planning to vote down the bill due to concerns about cuts to key provisions, including cuts to medical coverage. Some of the critical Republicans have attacked the Senate's more aggressive cuts to Medicaid, the healthcare programme relied upon by millions of low-income Americans. House Republicans had wrestled over how much to cut Medicaid and food subsidies in the initial version their chamber passed. They needed the bill to reduce spending, in order to offset lost revenue from the tax cuts contained in the legislation. The Senate made steeper cuts to both areas in the version passed on Tuesday. Changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (better known as Obamacare) in the Senate's bill would see roughly 12 million Americans lose health insurance by 2034, according to a CBO report published on Saturday. Under the version originally passed by the House, a smaller number of 11 million Americans would have had their coverage stripped, according to the CBO. Discussing the Medicaid issue with former Trump adviser and conservative podcaster Steve Bannon, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was asked whether the House might simply "rubber stamp" the Senate version. The right-wing House member and Trump loyalist responded that there was not enough support to get the bill through the House, using strong language to suggest the situation was a mess. "I think it's far from over," she said. "It's really a dire situation. We're on a time clock that's really been set on us, so we have a lot of pressure." The bill also deals with the question of how much taxpayers can deduct from the amount they pay in federal taxes, based on how much they pay in state and local taxes (Salt). This, too, has become a controversial issue. There is currently a $10,000 cap, which expires this year. Both the Senate and House have approved increasing this to $40,000. But in the Senate-approved version, the cap would return to $10,000 after five years. This change could pose a problem for some House Republicans.
Axios
16 minutes ago
- Axios
Key renewables official looks forward to permitting overhaul
A top renewables industry official is looking ahead to overhauling permitting and having wind and solar meet fast-rising demand, even as the House is weighing the Senate bill that would ax incentives. Why it matters: Absent a dramatic plot twist on Capitol Hill, the industry faces a much tougher future, with the GOP yanking unprecedented Biden-era support. There's no sugarcoating it: analysts now see much slower renewables growth. The body blow could have been even worse. But GOP moderates forced the removal of new taxes on wind and solar projects and softened some deadlines. The intrigue: With the "polarizing" reconciliation fight in the rearview, American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet hopes for a revival of permitting legislation that made progress last year. (ACP's criticism of the reconciliation bill is here.) He told me he sees an opening for the wider energy industry to get back to "advocating for shared interests," noting a "shared frustration we have with the inability to modernize the country." "The administration has expressed significant interest in permitting reform. It's going to require the good old-fashioned, 60-vote, bipartisan legislative process," Grumet said. Friction point: The budget bill pares back tax credits just as U.S. power demand is rising quickly after roughly 15 static years. That means renewables will remain needed resources in a country that needs more electricity — and fast, he said. The big picture:"We're not competing with natural gas because every single electron is needed. And we're certainly not competing with future technologies like geothermal or advanced nuclear," Grumet said of renewables. "The incredible economic demand and the fact that electricity is not a nice-to-have, but it's a must-have commodity, gives us confidence that we're going to continue to see clean power be the fastest to market, and in many parts of the country, the lowest-cost resource." Threat level: The increased U.S. demand — fueled in no small part by AI — has changed the landscape, he said. "When we had no real growth in demand, the country could tolerate bad federal policy, because, you know, you could screw up this side of the economy, you could screw up that side of the economy, but there was enough energy going around to kind of cover the gaps," Grumet said. "Going forward, we do not have that luxury. Skyrocketing demand that strains reliability and increases prices focuses the mind." That creates an opportunity to "build upon the closure of this chapter" and begin building more durable policy. Between the lines: I asked Grumet about a theme running through the budget fight: how IRA red state investments and jobs didn't deter major rollbacks. "It's true that the intense polarization actually overwhelmed the rational self-interests of the majority of the Republican members of the Senate," he said. But Grumet sees shared interests exerting more sway going forward — he was quick to note that senators including John Curtis and Lisa Murkowski helped strip some of the harshest provisions even as they backed the broader bill. The bottom line: "That coalition of the pragmatic has actually just started to reassert itself," he said, "and we're going to, certainly with the permitting reform debate and others, try to now grow that ballast in the system."
The Hill
16 minutes ago
- The Hill
Greene says Johnson doesn't have votes to pass ‘big, beautiful bill': ‘S— show'
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) predicted a tough battle ahead for President Trump's agenda-setting 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' as the tax and spending megabill returns to the House following its dramatic Senate passage Tuesday, describing the situation as a 's— show.' 'There's no way that [Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)] has the votes in the House for this,' Greene told political pundit and Trump ally Steve Bannon on an episode of his 'War Room' podcast. 'I think it's far from over.' She added, 'It is really a dire situation.' The House returned to the Capitol on Wednesday to try to hash out differences between its version of the bill and the one advanced through the Senate — which was narrowly passed after a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Vance following a marathon debate on its specifics. Trump has pressed GOP lawmakers to send the bill to him for final approval by Friday. 'We're on a time clock that's been really set on us, so we have a lot of pressure — and then also given the fact that there's 435 members of Congress and it's hard for us to get to an agreement on anything,' Greene continued. 'So this whole thing is — I don't know what to call it — it's a s— show.' 'I know we're not supposed to say that on the air, but that's truly what it is,' the Georgia Republican added. The House passed its take on the bill in May in a razor-thin 215-214 vote amid pressure from Trump, Vance and other White House allies. Johnson and other GOP leaders have been trying to bring skeptical House members on board with changes that the Senate made in its version by this week's self-imposed deadline that Trump has pushed. 'We knew we would come to this moment. We knew the Senate would amend the House product. I encouraged them to amend it as lightly as possible. They went a little further than many of us would have preferred, but we have the product now,' Johnson told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday. 'As the President said, it's his bill. It's not a House bill, it's not a Senate bill, it's the American people's bill.' 'My objective and my responsibility is to get that bill over the line, so we will do everything possible to do that, and I will work with all of our colleagues,' he added. Johnson has also acknowledged that inclement weather could add another road bump, after several lawmakers posted online that their flights back to Washington were delayed or canceled.
