Russian probe is Trump’s poll ace
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump and Republicans are launching a broad electionyear attack on the foundation of the Russia investigation, including declassifying intelligence to try to scrutinise senior Obama administration officials for routine actions.
The effort has been aided by a justice department decision to dismiss its prosecution of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn (pictured), an action that rewrites the narrative of the three-year-old case in a way former federal law enforcement officials say downplays the legitimate national security concerns they believe Mr Flynn’s actions raised and the consequences of the lies he pleaded guilty to telling.
The DOJ decision comes as Mr Trump and his Republican allies push to reframe the Russia investigation as a “deep state” plot to sabotage his administration, setting the stage for a fresh onslaught of attacks on past and present Democratic officials and law enforcement leaders.
“His goal is that by the end of this, you’re just not really sure what happened and at some gut level enough Americans say ‘it’s kind of messy’,” said Princeton University historian Julian Zelizer.
The latest indication of that came yesterday when two Republican critics of the Russia investigation, senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, disclosed a list of names of Obama administration officials they say may have received Mr Flynn’s identity from intelligence reports in 2016 and 2017.
Among them is Trump’s Democratic opponent Joe Biden, who was vice president when the Russia probe began.
Names of Americans are routinely hidden, or minimised, in intelligence reports describing surveillance of foreigners, so US officials have to make a specific request if they want to “unmask” someone.
Mr Biden and the other officials had full authority to seek the name of an unidentified person, now known to be Mr Flynn, who had interacted with the Russian ambassador, and they did so through proper channels, documents reveal.
Rather than reveal any actual wrongdoing, the release of the information by the President’s allies seems designed to create suspicion around Mr Biden and other senior Democrats as the November election approaches. The Biden campaign dismissed the revelation.