Subpoenas are flying faster than a bureaucrat dodging accountability as the Justice Department digs into the murky depths of the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion saga, according to The New York Post.
Over two dozen individuals, including heavy hitters like former CIA Director John Brennan, ex-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, have been targeted with 30 federal grand jury subpoenas in a probe examining allegations of conspiracy and bias in the Obama-era “Russigate” investigation.
Strzok, alongside Lisa Page, would become infamous for exchanging hundreds of text messages in 2017 that openly mocked then-candidate Trump, fueling concerns of deep-seated bias within the FBI’s ranks.
These messages became a cornerstone of skepticism about the fairness of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, raising questions about whether personal agendas tainted the process.
Fast forward to the release of declassified emails by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in August, which revealed Clapper’s dogged push to maintain the narrative of Russian meddling to aid Trump, even when a top intelligence official expressed doubts.
Clapper’s own words in an email to former National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers are telling: “We may have to compromise on our ‘normal’ modalities, since we must do this on a compressed schedule.”
Compromise standards for a rushed job? That’s not exactly the reassuring language one hopes to hear from a top intelligence official shaping public perception of a presidential election.
Further emails from Clapper insisted, “More time is not negotiable,” doubling down on a process that a “lessons-learned review” later described as chaotic and unconventional, with Brennan, Clapper, and former FBI Director James Comey overly involved in drafting a flawed assessment.
Speaking of Brennan, the FBI launched a criminal investigation into his actions in July after CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s review criticized the Obama administration’s spy agencies for their handling of Russian meddling claims.
Brennan has also racked up at least three criminal referrals tied to his conduct following Trump’s 2016 victory, suggesting the scrutiny on him is far from a passing glance.
Meanwhile, neither Brennan nor Clapper, nor the attorneys for Strzok and Page, have responded to requests for comment from The Post, leaving the public to wonder what defense—if any—they might muster.
Now, under the supervision of US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones in the Southern District of Florida, this grand jury investigation is casting a wide net, with subpoenas issued just last Friday to probe what many see as a coordinated effort to paint Trump’s campaign as colluding with Russia.
Fox News broke the story first, shining a light on how these individuals are viewed as part of a potential conspiracy to push unfounded claims against a presidential candidate—a charge that, if proven, could shake trust in our intelligence community to its core.
As the Justice Department sifts through this tangled web, one can’t help but hope for clarity over chaos, though the track record of Washington’s elite dodging consequences doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Still, the issuance of 30 subpoenas shows this isn’t just a fishing expedition. It’s a full-blown deep dive into whether personal biases hijacked national security for political gain.
