Newly declassified documents reveal that the FBI used President Donald Trump’s decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey as the pretext for launching the Russiagate investigation to give the impression that he worked with the Russian government to win the 2016 election.

The declassified Opening Electronic Communication (EC), which was issued in May 2017, states that the FBI opened a full investigation “based on an articulable factual basis that reasonably indicates that President Donald J. Trump may be or has been, wittingly or unwittingly, involved in activities for or on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation which may constitute violations of federal criminal law or threats to the national security of the United States.” 

The document further states that the goal was to determine “if President Trump is or was directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes,” while also examining possible obstruction. 

The document justifies the probe by bringing up Trump’s interactions with Comey, noting multiple conversations in which he “sought Comey’s personal loyalty,” “asked Comey to publicize the fact that the President was not the subject of an FBI investigation,” and “asked Comey to do what he could to resolve the investigations.” It also argues that Trump’s changing rationale for the May 9 firing “can be reasonably read to imply that the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation was a factor in President Trump’s decision to terminate Comey.”

If the FBI launched this investigation simply because Trump fired its director, it’s nearly impossible to pretend the Russiagate narrative was anything more than a politically motivated farce aimed at discrediting the president after he won the presidential election. 

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Of course, it was already obvious that the cries of “Russia, Russia, Russia,” were motivated more by politics than a concern for national security. But this newly-released document only cements this fact, which is inconvenient for the few Democrats still trying to make use of the Russiagate narrative.