Crossfire Hurricane, Steele Dossier, Page, Papadopolous, Danchenko, Dolan, Sussmann, DOJ OIG – Simplified.

Posted on by dannielleblumenthal

What follows is a simplified* version of the Executive Summary of the Durham Report (Part II).

The FBI’s investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia was controversial. The FBI was criticized for its handling of the investigation, which found no evidence of collusion.

Crossfire Hurricane

  • The FBI opened Crossfire Hurricane, an investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia, in July 2016.
  • It was controversial from the start.
  • Critics accused the FBI of:
    • Using political bias to open the investigation.
    • Using the Steele dossier, a dossier of unverified intelligence compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, to obtain a warrant to surveil Carter Page, a former Trump campaign advisor.

The Steele Dossier

  1. Fusion GPS
    • In 2016, the Clinton campaign hired this research firm to investigate Donald Trump and his associates.
    • Fusion GPS hired a former British spy named Christopher Steele to compile a dossier of information about Trump’s ties to Russia.
    • Steele’s dossier contained many allegations that were later found to be false or unsubstantiated.
  2. Fusion GPS – Steele Dossier – FBI
    • In September 2016, the FBI received the Steele Dossier.
    • The Steele dossier was full of unsubstantiated allegations.
    • The FBI knew that some of the information in the dossier was from Russian sources.
  3. Carter Page
    • The FBI used the Steele Dossier to obtain a warrant to surveil Carter Page, a former Trump campaign advisor, based on the allegation that Page was a Russian agent.
    • The FBI’s surveillance of Page continued for over a year.
    • In the end, the FBI found no evidence that Page was a Russian agent.
    • Critics say that the FBI used the dossier to spy on a political opponent of Hillary Clinton.
    • The FBI has defended its use of the dossier, saying that it was a legitimate investigative tool.

George Papadopolous

  • The FBI investigated Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos after he told an Australian diplomat that Russia had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

Igor Danchenko

  • The FBI investigated a Russian national, Igor Danchenko, from 2009-2011. They closed the investigation in 2011 after concluding that he left the country.
  • However, in 2017, they reopened the investigation after learning that Danchenko was one of Christopher Steele’s primary sources for the Steele dossier.
  • The FBI paid Danchenko to provide information but was unable to corroborate any of the allegations in the Steele dossier.
  • The FBI’s investigation into Danchenko was flawed because they did not adequately investigate his ties to Russian intelligence or vet the information that he provided.
  • This raises concerns about the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and calls into question the FBI’s credibility and impartiality.

Charles Dolan

  • The FBI investigated Charles Dolan, a Democratic Party operative who had a relationship with Igor Danchenko, one of Christopher Steele’s primary sources for the Steele dossier.
  • Dolan traveled to Moscow at the same time as Danchenko and may have been the source of some of the allegations in the dossier. Dolan admitted to fabricating one allegation in the dossier.
  • Despite this, the FBI did not interview Dolan. This raises concerns about the FBI’s handling of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Michael Sussmann

  • Michael Sussmann, an attorney working for the Clinton campaign, gave false information to the FBI about a link between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank. He said he was not representing anyone when he gave the information, but he was actually representing the Clinton campaign.
  • The FBI investigated the information and found that it was false. Sussmann was charged with lying to the FBI and was found guilty. He was sentenced to probation and a fine.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report.

Office of Inspector General

The Justice Department’s OIG found that the FBI made serious mistakes, not criminal offenses, in opening and conducting the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. For example, the FBI:

  • Failed to adequately examine or question the information in the dossier, even when they learned of significant and potentially contrary intelligence.
  • Displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor towards the information that they received, especially information received from politically affiliated persons and entities.
  • Did not adequately vet the dossier before using it to obtain a warrant to surveil Page.
  • Had not adequately documented its reasons for opening the investigation. (This lack of documentation made it difficult for the OIG to assess whether the FBI had opened the investigation for legitimate reasons or for political reasons.)

These mistakes called into question the FBI’s credibility and raised concerns about the politicization of the FBI. Its investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia was flawed and politically motivated.

The FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law, and they need to do better in the future.

Text simplified by artificial intelligence and edited and organized by Dr. Blumenthal. All opinions are the author’s own.