President Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum directing the declassification of FBI files related to the investigation into his 2016 campaign’s potential ties to Russia.
The memorandum calls for the declassification of “all files related to Crossfire Hurricane investigation,” White House staff secretary Will Scharf said as Trump prepared to sign the order at the White House.
“We believe that it’s long past time for the American people to have a full and complete understanding of what exactly is in those files,” Scharf said.
“This was total weaponization. It’s a disgrace…but now you’ll be able to see for yourselves,” Trump said as he signed the memo.
The FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation in July 2016 over whether members of Trump’s campaign were coordinating with Russian officials. The investigation preceded the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump and his allies have for years cast doubt on the legitimacy of the FBI’s probe into his campaign, arguing it was a politically motivated investigation.
Mueller ultimately did not establish that Trump or members of his campaign coordinated or conspired with Moscow to affect the 2016 presidential election, but he and his team declined to reach a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice.
