Latest news with #ChristopherWray
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump 2.0 is correcting Trump 1.0
The 47th president is in many ways a different man than the 45th president, even though they are both Donald J. Trump. He's unafraid to swear in public or on social media and he's more emboldened, willing to directly challenge the Constitution and the courts and capable of demanding more loyalty from Republicans. But Trump 2.0 is also in direct competition with his former self in several important ways, starting with the fact that he can't seem to remember appointing people he now loathes. Trump's aides are looking at ways to oust Jay Powell, the Fed chairman Trump nominated to the role during his first term. Trump told House Republicans he had drafted a letter to take the unprecedented step of firing the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Markets beware. At the White House Wednesday, Trump seemed to forget that he had nominated Powell. 'I was surprised he was appointed,' Trump said. 'I was surprised, frankly, that Biden put him in and extended him, but they did.' Biden renominated Powell. Either Trump can't remember or he is willing himself to forget his role in the process. If Trump ultimately tests the Fed's independence and tries to fire Powell, he'll point to a building renovation that got underway during Trump's own first term. Before Trump took office for the second time, the FBI director appointed during his first term, Christopher Wray, quit early rather than wait to be fired. On the Supreme Court, CNN has reported on Trump's gripes behind closed doors about his nominee Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in particular. When Trump today threatens burdensome tariffs on Canada and Mexico, who he accuses of 'taking advantage' of previous US presidents, he's also talking about his prior self. Trump's first-term administration negotiated the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement — a reboot of NAFTA. Back then, it was hailed as the major accomplishment of his trade policy. He has also evolved on issues including bitcoin and cryptocurrency, although that could have something to do with his family's business interests. And Trump used to support banning TikTok in the US, but now, after making inroads with young men in the last election, he very much wants a US-based company to step up and buy the platform. 'He's undoing himself with a vengeance,' the CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali told me. The relatively moderate mainstream policy hands who marked the first Trump term are on the outs. Outsiders and MAGA figureheads are in. 'Donald Trump clearly is angry about what his advisers forced him to do in the first term,' Naftali said, pointing specifically to trade policy. 'His approach to Canada and Mexico is inexplicable given his first term, unless you realize that he wasn't happy with what he ended up doing in the first term,' he said. Naftali said Trump deserves credit for Operation Warp Speed, the effort to quickly develop a Covid-19 vaccine at a time when the country was largely shut down by the pandemic. But rather than build on that legacy, Trump selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his Health and Human Services director, elevating a vaccine skeptic to a top policy role. Kennedy fired all the members of a CDC vaccine advisory panel and brought in vaccine skeptics to review the vaccine schedule. I put the idea of Trump 2.0 correcting Trump 1.0 to a number of CNN reporters and anchors who pay close attention to foreign affairs, the economy and the environment. CNN's Jim Sciutto, who wrote a book, The Madman Theory, about Trump's first-term foreign policy, notes that Trump is more aggressive this time, and appears to be more inclined to listen to his own gut. SCIUTTO: In his second term, President Trump is proving less likely to be deterred by advisers or advice against his more aggressive moves in international affairs. And, so for instance, while (former White House Chief of Staff) Gen. John Kelly and (former national security adviser) John Bolton were able to counsel him away from summarily withdrawing from NATO in 2018, many — including those who served in his first administration — fear his current advisers won't stand in the way. From foreign officials, the concern I hear most often is one of uncertainty. From tariffs to military support for Ukraine, they express doubts that what the president says today will hold tomorrow. Trade deals become fleeting agreements subject to where the financial markets are on any given day or how the White House reads domestic politics. And support for Ukraine — which European officials see as central to the security of the whole continent — rises and falls based on Trump's current interpretation of where Putin stands on peace talks. Trump has proven his willingness to make hard decisions his predecessors avoided — the US strikes on Iran stand out. What observers at home and abroad are waiting for is a consistent and predictable worldview. Allison Morrow, who writes the Nightcap newsletter for CNN Business, agrees there's a difference to this president, but he remains the same in one very important way. MORROW: I agree with Tim Naftali, though I wonder how conscious Trump is of his attempts to undo USMCA, which itself was just a reshuffling of NAFTA. The Trump 2.0 tariff strategy, such as it is, doesn't make any sense in practice. If you really want to use tariffs to bring back US manufacturing, you can't be cutting deals, because then there's no incentive for companies to invest in domestic production. We've written about the contradictions at the heart of his tariff ideology dozens of times at this point, and there's just no response from the White House about how they think they can make tariffs do everything they claim, all at once. I think the thing that jumps out at me between Trump 1.0 and 2.0 is what hasn't changed. Fundamentally, I think Trump wants to avoid accountability. And that's why he has sort of slow-walked the tariffs into the market's collective consciousness, and backed off when the bond markets shuddered. He's testing to see what he can get away with without causing a financial or economic catastrophe. Trump and his aides also clearly learned from his first term. Instead of trying repeatedly to repeal Obamacare, they cut future spending from Medicaid, which will have a similar effect by pushing millions of lower-income Americans off their health insurance in the years to come. CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter noted that in this term, Trump is acting more forcefully against news outlets. STELTER: Instead of merely tweeting insults at independent media outlets, he is taking concrete actions to penalize those outlets, while at the same time promoting and empowering MAGA commentators. Take the media story in the news right now: the imminent defunding of PBS and NPR. In Trump's first term, he harshly criticized public media, but those were just words, not actions. His administration also proposed annual budgets that would have zeroed out the funding, but didn't successfully pressure Congress to follow through. In Trump's second term, he seemingly knows which buttons to press. He (or, probably more accurately, his aides) targeted the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in several different ways and sold Republican lawmakers on a DOGE-branded rescission that passed both the House and Senate. CNN's Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes isn't sure Trump is undoing his first term as much as he is better prepared this time. HOLMES: Trump and his allies had four years to prepare for him to be president again. His allies used that time to create a framework for a second term agenda, as well as brainstorm potential roadblocks and work-arounds to those roadblocks, to ensure that they could start enacting his agenda on Day 1. The first time around, even members of Trump's own campaign were surprised he won. They had almost no real transition and Trump had to rely on Washington Republicans, many of whom did not have the same ideas as him, to help fill out the cabinet and guide him. And while he knew what he wanted to do, he had no real understanding of how to get it done. Now, he is working in unison with almost every inch of his administration to get what he wants done — and it's working. Holmes' point carries over to immigration, Trump's signature issue. He is more effectively carrying through with mass deportations than he did in his first term. With a more pliant Congress, he has money for his border wall, the go-ahead to turn ICE into the nation's largest and best-funded police force, and the help of Republican governors to create new detention centers to hold undocumented immigrants — not just violent criminals — he wants to deport. When he leaves office, the country will look a lot different after his second term than it did after his first.
CNN
5 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump 2.0 is correcting Trump 1.0
The 47th president is in many ways a different man than the 45th president, even though they are both Donald J. Trump. He's unafraid to swear in public or on social media and he's more emboldened, willing to directly challenge the Constitution and the courts and capable of demanding more loyalty from Republicans. But Trump 2.0 is also in direct competition with his former self in several important ways, starting with the fact that he can't seem to remember appointing people he now loathes. Trump's aides are looking at ways to oust Jay Powell, the Fed chairman Trump nominated to the role during his first term. Trump told House Republicans he had drafted a letter to take the unprecedented step of firing the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Markets beware. At the White House Wednesday, Trump seemed to forget that he had nominated Powell. 'I was surprised he was appointed,' Trump said. 'I was surprised, frankly, that Biden put him in and extended him, but they did.' Biden renominated Powell. Either Trump can't remember or he is willing himself to forget his role in the process. If Trump ultimately tests the Fed's independence and tries to fire Powell, he'll point to a building renovation that got underway during Trump's own first term. Before Trump took office for the second time, the FBI director appointed during his first term, Christopher Wray, quit early rather than wait to be fired. On the Supreme Court, CNN has reported on Trump's gripes behind closed doors about his nominee Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in particular. When Trump today threatens burdensome tariffs on Canada and Mexico, who he accuses of 'taking advantage' of previous US presidents, he's also talking about his prior self. Trump's first-term administration negotiated the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement — a reboot of NAFTA. Back then, it was hailed as the major accomplishment of his trade policy. He has also evolved on issues including bitcoin and cryptocurrency, although that could have something to do with his family's business interests. And Trump used to support banning TikTok in the US, but now, after making inroads with young men in the last election, he very much wants a US-based company to step up and buy the platform. 'He's undoing himself with a vengeance,' the CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali told me. The relatively moderate mainstream policy hands who marked the first Trump term are on the outs. Outsiders and MAGA figureheads are in. 'Donald Trump clearly is angry about what his advisers forced him to do in the first term,' Naftali said, pointing specifically to trade policy. 'His approach to Canada and Mexico is inexplicable given his first term, unless you realize that he wasn't happy with what he ended up doing in the first term,' he said. Naftali said Trump deserves credit for Operation Warp Speed, the effort to quickly develop a Covid-19 vaccine at a time when the country was largely shut down by the pandemic. But rather than build on that legacy, Trump selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his Health and Human Services director, elevating a vaccine skeptic to a top policy role. Kennedy fired all the members of a CDC vaccine advisory panel and brought in vaccine skeptics to review the vaccine schedule. I put the idea of Trump 2.0 correcting Trump 1.0 to a number of CNN reporters and anchors who pay close attention to foreign affairs, the economy and the environment. CNN's Jim Sciutto, who wrote a book, The Madman Theory, about Trump's first-term foreign policy, notes that Trump is more aggressive this time, and appears to be more inclined to listen to his own gut. SCIUTTO: In his second term, President Trump is proving less likely to be deterred by advisers or advice against his more aggressive moves in international affairs. And, so for instance, while (former White House Chief of Staff) Gen. John Kelly and (former national security adviser) John Bolton were able to counsel him away from summarily withdrawing from NATO in 2018, many — including those who served in his first administration — fear his current advisers won't stand in the way. From foreign officials, the concern I hear most often is one of uncertainty. From tariffs to military support for Ukraine, they express doubts that what the president says today will hold tomorrow. Trade deals become fleeting agreements subject to where the financial markets are on any given day or how the White House reads domestic politics. And support for Ukraine — which European officials see as central to the security of the whole continent — rises and falls based on Trump's current interpretation of where Putin stands on peace talks. Trump has proven his willingness to make hard decisions his predecessors avoided — the US strikes on Iran stand out. What observers at home and abroad are waiting for is a consistent and predictable worldview. Allison Morrow, who writes the Nightcap newsletter for CNN Business, agrees there's a difference to this president, but he remains the same in one very important way. MORROW: I agree with Tim Naftali, though I wonder how conscious Trump is of his attempts to undo USMCA, which itself was just a reshuffling of NAFTA. The Trump 2.0 tariff strategy, such as it is, doesn't make any sense in practice. If you really want to use tariffs to bring back US manufacturing, you can't be cutting deals, because then there's no incentive for companies to invest in domestic production. We've written about the contradictions at the heart of his tariff ideology dozens of times at this point, and there's just no response from the White House about how they think they can make tariffs do everything they claim, all at once. I think the thing that jumps out at me between Trump 1.0 and 2.0 is what hasn't changed. Fundamentally, I think Trump wants to avoid accountability. And that's why he has sort of slow-walked the tariffs into the market's collective consciousness, and backed off when the bond markets shuddered. He's testing to see what he can get away with without causing a financial or economic catastrophe. Trump and his aides also clearly learned from his first term. Instead of trying repeatedly to repeal Obamacare, they cut future spending from Medicaid, which will have a similar effect by pushing millions of lower-income Americans off their health insurance in the years to come. CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter noted that in this term, Trump is acting more forcefully against news outlets. STELTER: Instead of merely tweeting insults at independent media outlets, he is taking concrete actions to penalize those outlets, while at the same time promoting and empowering MAGA commentators. Take the media story in the news right now: the imminent defunding of PBS and NPR. In Trump's first term, he harshly criticized public media, but those were just words, not actions. His administration also proposed annual budgets that would have zeroed out the funding, but didn't successfully pressure Congress to follow through. In Trump's second term, he seemingly knows which buttons to press. He (or, probably more accurately, his aides) targeted the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in several different ways and sold Republican lawmakers on a DOGE-branded rescission that passed both the House and Senate. CNN's Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes isn't sure Trump is undoing his first term as much as he is better prepared this time. HOLMES: Trump and his allies had four years to prepare for him to be president again. His allies used that time to create a framework for a second term agenda, as well as brainstorm potential roadblocks and work-arounds to those roadblocks, to ensure that they could start enacting his agenda on Day 1. The first time around, even members of Trump's own campaign were surprised he won. They had almost no real transition and Trump had to rely on Washington Republicans, many of whom did not have the same ideas as him, to help fill out the cabinet and guide him. And while he knew what he wanted to do, he had no real understanding of how to get it done. Now, he is working in unison with almost every inch of his administration to get what he wants done — and it's working. Holmes' point carries over to immigration, Trump's signature issue. He is more effectively carrying through with mass deportations than he did in his first term. With a more pliant Congress, he has money for his border wall, the go-ahead to turn ICE into the nation's largest and best-funded police force, and the help of Republican governors to create new detention centers to hold undocumented immigrants — not just violent criminals — he wants to deport. When he leaves office, the country will look a lot different after his second term than it did after his first.
Newsweek
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Declassified Election-Related Emails Portray FBI as 'Broken Institution'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. 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.
Fox News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
FBI blocked probe into alleged Chinese 2020 election meddling to protect Wray from fallout, documents show
EXCLUSIVE: The FBI blocked an investigation into allegations that the Chinese Communist Party manufactured fake driver's licenses and shipped them to the U.S. in a scheme to influence the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden because it would "contradict" then-FBI Director Christopher Wray's congressional testimony, newly declassified FBI documents obtained by Fox News Digital reveal. The records, which include communications between FBI officials ahead of the 2020 election, were recently declassified by FBI Director Kash Patel and transmitted to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. Fox News Digital reported in June that Patel located and declassified the original reporting document alleging the Chinese Communist Party sought to deliver fake driver's licenses to Chinese sympathizers in the U.S. who would cast a vote for Biden in the 2020 election. The document did not say whether any ballots were cast as part of the scheme. The FBI recalled that reporting, though, Sept. 25, 2020 — just a day after Wray testified before Congress that the FBI had not seen any coordinated voter fraud ahead of the 2020 election. The FBI, at the time, had recalled that report "in order to re-interview the source." It also directed "recipients" of the original report to "destroy all copies of the original report and remove the original report from all computer holdings." But Patel, this week, declassified additional documents, including records relating to the re-interview of the source, and communications between FBI officials at the time discussing the decision-making behind the recall and its decision not to republish the intelligence reporting. The records were sent to Grassley and Fox News Digital has reviewed the records. "Although the source was reengaged and provided additional context to support the initial IIR, FBI Headquarters maintained its position not to republish the report," Assistant FBI Director Marshall Yates wrote in a letter to Grassley, obtained by Fox News Digital. "One reason cited for not releasing the IIR was because 'the reporting will contradict Director Wray's testimony.'" Fox News Digital was unable to reach Wray for comment. During a Senate hearing Sept. 24, 2020, Wray said he had not seen any widespread fraud by mail, and said that if he had, it would be something that we would investigate seriously … and aggressively." "We have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it is by mail or otherwise," Wray testified. But "people should make no mistake we are vigilant as to the threat and watching it carefully, because we are in uncharted new territory." But Wray also testified that the Chinese had been "expanding their influence efforts," saying they had been "looking for different ways to take a page out of the malign foreign influence playbook that they have seen elsewhere." But Yates, in his letter to Grassley, explained that the recall of the original reporting document was "abnormal." "The rationale provided to Albany staff for the recall was that Headquarters deemed the report not 'authoritative,' but this characterization was met with disagreement by those in the Albany office," Yates explained. Grassley told Fox News Digital: "These records smack of political decision-making and prove the Wray-led FBI to be a deeply broken institution. 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, or if it's just smoke and mirrors." Grassley said. The report was recalled at the direction of Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Nikki Floris and Tonya Ugoretz from the cyber division. Fox News Digital first reported that Floris was the FBI official to deliver a "defensive briefing" to Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in August 2020, claiming that their Hunter Biden investigation advanced Russian disinformation. The FBI declassified internal emails among Albany staff, obtained by Fox News Digital, reflecting concerns that suppressing the document would be "dangerous if we cite potential political implications as reasons for not putting out our information." Yates explained that it "was not the role of analysts to align intelligence with public testimony." "Albany staff further warned against FBI assuming the role of sole gatekeeper for the Intelligence Community (IC), emphasizing that suppressing field-generated reporting could deprive other IC elements of the opportunity to corroborate or discredit intelligence," Yates said. In an email on Sept. 30, 2020, reviewed by Fox News Digital, agents questioned why the report could not be released, to which another replied: "Again, the reporting will contradict Director Wray's testimony." On Oct. 1, 2020, an agent in the Albany Field Office replied: "I'm not trying to be a pain on this, but after taking some time thinking this over I just want to voice my opinion and concerns on this issue and make it clear I do not agree with the reasoning for not putting this out," the FBI agent from the Albany Field Office wrote. "I'm not satisfied with the reasoning of needing a new 1023 and HQ review as these things are everyday operational and administrative requirements," the agent continued. "Most concerning to me, is stating the reporting would contradict with Director Wray's testimony. I found this troubling because it implied to me that one of the reasons we aren't putting this out is for a political reason, which goes directly against our organizations mission to remain apolitical and simply state what we know." FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL VOWS TO RESTORE TRUST IN BUREAU, HUNT DOWN BAD ACTORS 'IN EVERY CORNER OF THIS PLANET'The agent added: "Likewise, at the field operational level, I do not feel it is our job to assess whether or not our intelligence aligns with the Director, rather we provide intelligence for people way above our pay grade (like the director) to make the call of what the FBI is seeing as a whole." The agent agreed that the FBI had "an obligation to not put out reckless information where we know something to be false or will cause undue harm." "However, we are also not in a sole position to determine a reporting's validity, as we only make up one USIC agency, and an incredibly small fraction of all USIC, and other FBI Sources that could report on this matter," the agent wrote. "My concern is that I think it gets dangerous if we cite potential political implications as reasons for not putting out information." The agent also stressed that with the decision to keep the report recalled, the FBI is "starting to drift too far into being the sole decider for the USIC regarding when information we gather is, or is not valid, or of interest to the intelligence community because it takes away the crucial opportunity from the rest of the USIC to potentially corroborate or discredit our intelligence." "Chris Wray's FBI wasn't looking out for the American people – it was looking to save its own image," Grassley told Fox News Digital. "Now's the time to rebuild the FBI's trust." He added: "Director Patel's willingness to work with me to establish renewed transparency and accountability is a critical part of that process, and I applaud him for his efforts." Meanwhile, Yates explained that even though an intelligence analyst "requested further research and re-engagement with the source, Headquarters ultimately decided not to issue a new IIR, citing a lack of additional substantiating information, even after the source was reinterviewed." Yates said that the FBI believed that source "appeared to be reliable," and said that the FBI "did not close the source for cause or lack of credible information." According to the declassified documents, the source was a China-based individual who was not a member of the Chinese Communist Party. In the re-interview, according to the documents, an Albany officer "was able to partially corroborate some of the information s/he provided." "The case agent believes the source is competent and is authentic in his/her reporting," a declassified FBI record states. When asked how "confident" was the source in the information, an agent wrote: "very, very confident." "Additional emails show that the Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) did not approve reissuance of the IIR, citing concerns about authoritativeness and potential for disinformation by foreign actors," Yates explained. "However, other than a request for information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, we have found no information to indicate that FITF-China aggressively investigated the reported information, despite corroborating intergovernmental reporting and logical investigative leads." The original FBI reporting document came just a month after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the International Mail Facility at Chicago O'Hare International Airport seized nearly 20,000 fraudulent driver's licenses. From January 2020 through June 30, 2020, CBP officers at that location reported seizing 1,513 shipments of fraudulent documents that included a total of 19,888 counterfeit US driver's licenses. "The majority of these shipments were arriving from China and Hong Kong," CBP posted in a July press release. It was not immediately clear if the seizure had any relation to the document's allegations. "Finally, because of this episode, FBI Headquarters set a new requirement on the field for the 2020 election; 'all raw reporting concerning the election will now require HQ coordination, which was not required' before," Yates explained to Grassley. The FBI said the records reflect "the broader sentiment within the Albany Field Office that the recall decision and resulting suppression of the IIR raised serious questions about the integrity of the intelligence reporting process and its susceptibility to perceived political pressures. The FBI is continuing to investigate the matter, and noted that records have been preserved within the bureau's systems.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Kash Patel uncovers proof former FBI bosses buried evidence that China interfered in 2020 election as he vows to take action
FBI Director Kash Patel has dug up evidence the agency shut down an investigation that shows the former director buried proof China interfered in the 2020 presidential election. The Daily Mail can exclusively report that Patel plans to hand over to Congress on Wednesday proof that former FBI Director Christopher Wray lied to Congress. Specifically, he will detail how headquarters 'recalled' a report solely because it contradicted Wray's claims under oath to Congress that China was not conducting a foreign influence campaign in U.S. elections. The FBI field office in Albany, New York produced an Internal Intelligence Report (IRR) that was published and then pulled back without justification, Patel reveals. FBI bosses at the time shut down this legitimate investigation into the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to shield Wray from fallout, sources tell the Daily Mail. The FBI was investigating at the time the existence of CCP-produced drivers licenses to obtain paper ballots and the Albany office published an IRR on the claims. They were then told by headquarters to pull the report and pretend it didn't exist, Patel will reveal. The current Director will tell Congress on Wednesday that the reason the IRR on this investigation was never released was because they admitted that 'the reporting will contradict Director Wray's testimony.' An FBI official tells the Daily Mail that the current FBI found the IRR and discovered that previous leadership pulled the report. During a hearing before the Senate in September 2020, then-Director Wray was asked by Republican Sen. Gary Peters whether voting by mail is secure. 'We take all election threats seriously,' Wray said at the time. 'And our role is to investigate the threat accuracy,' he added before insisting: 'Now, we have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise.' But Patel's new bombshell information claims that this was not true and that Wray lied to Congress while under oath. Patel vows that there will be accountability for those who tried to bury the report and continue pushing claims that there was no legitimate evidence that the CCP was conducting a foreign influence campaign on the 2020 presidential election. 'Based on our continued review and production of FBI documents related to the CCP's plot to interfere in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, previous FBI leadership chose to play politics and withhold key information from the American people – exposing the weaponization of law enforcement for political purposes during the height of the 2020 election season,' Patel said in a statement with Deputy Director Dan Bongino. They added: 'This FBI leadership team will continue keeping our promise of aggressive transparency and working around the clock to fix the underlying problems to restore the FBI to the trusted institution the American people deserve.' Patel will tell Congress that the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) did not approve reissuance of the IRR after it was pulled and then further confirmed by investigators. 'We have found no information to indicate that FITF-China properly investigated the reported information or followed logical investigative leads, despite corroborating intergovernmental reporting,' Patel will reveal on Wednesday.
