President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday issued a new memorandum directing the immediate declassification and public release of documents related to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation — the controversial probe into alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russian operatives.
The directive, addressed to the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Director of the CIA, orders the release of all materials previously referenced in a January 19, 2021 presidential memorandum on the same topic — with limited exceptions for redactions previously requested by the FBI and materials protected under court orders or privacy laws.
“I have determined that all of the materials referenced… are no longer classified,” Trump stated in the memo, emphasizing that transparency around the origins and conduct of the investigation is essential to restoring trust in the intelligence community and the Department of Justice.
The only exception Trump allowed is material identified in a January 17, 2021 FBI cover letter requesting redactions. That information, he stated, “remains classified.” Trump also made clear that nothing in the memo overrides legal protections for certain surveillance-related information or personal data protected under existing law.
The directive reaffirms Trump’s long-standing insistence that the Crossfire Hurricane probe was politically motivated and weaponized against his campaign. Though several investigations and inspector general reports found significant flaws in how the FBI handled the probe — including errors in applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court — no conclusive evidence of intentional partisan bias was established.
Trump’s new order comes as part of his broader push to unearth and expose what he calls the “deep state” network within federal agencies. It builds on his 2021 effort to declassify the same materials during the final hours of his presidency, which faced delays and redactions due to objections raised by the FBI at the time.
Legal analysts say the memorandum is likely to face pushback from national security officials concerned about the exposure of sensitive sources and methods. Others, however, argue that the move could shed long-awaited light on one of the most contentious investigations in modern American political history.
It is unclear how quickly the Attorney General will move to release the materials, or how extensive the trove of documents may be. But if carried out in full, the order could provide new insight into internal FBI deliberations, source handling, and intelligence-sharing surrounding the early days of the Russia investigation.
READ: Trump Signs Sweeping Executive Order To Overhaul Federal Election Integrity Standards
This latest move adds to a series of post-presidency executive actions by Trump aimed at reshaping public perception of federal law enforcement and intelligence institutions — particularly in the wake of investigations that he and his supporters claim were unfair and politically motivated.
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