FBI Director Kash Patel has recently submitted a large batch of declassified documents to Congress, revealing details about the FBI’s ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ investigation. This probe originally looked into unproven allegations of collusion between former President Donald Trump and Russia. The release follows an executive order from President Trump that called for the declassification of these materials.
The set of documents, totaling nearly 700 pages, was titled ‘Crossfire Hurricane Redacted Binder’ and is dated April 9, 2025. The exclusive release was obtained by Just the News.
This move comes after a March executive order from Trump, which aimed to finalize the declassification process for materials linked to the FBI’s investigation. These documents had been blocked from release by Trump’s own Justice Department in January 2021, in the final days of his presidency.
For years, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice and the FBI, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, also opposed releasing these materials.
The Crossfire Hurricane investigation began in 2016, initially driven by unverified reports of Russian interference in the U.S. election and alleged collusion with Trump. However, the investigation faced strong criticism, with many accusing it of being politically motivated and aimed at destabilizing Trump’s presidency.
Trump’s March directive, called ‘Immediate Declassification of Materials Pertaining to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Inquiry,’ was a follow-up to an earlier effort during his presidency. In January 2021, Trump had tried to declassify these materials but faced resistance from the FBI, which redacted parts it wanted to keep confidential.
Trump formally declassified the remaining documents on January 19, 2021, and ordered the FBI to redact sensitive sections. However, after Trump left office, the Justice Department blocked the release, preventing the declassification process from going forward.
A memo from Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief of Staff, on January 20, 2021, instructed the Justice Department to release the documents under the Privacy Act. Yet, despite these orders, neither the Justice Department nor the FBI followed through on declassifying the materials.
A two-year investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of criminal collusion between Trump and Russia. DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz also criticized the FBI for relying on an unverified dossier, a key piece of evidence that played a significant role in the investigation.
Special Counsel John Durham’s later report echoed these concerns, stating that there was no substantial evidence of collusion at the start of the investigation and that the FBI had failed to substantiate claims from the Steele dossier.
Despite this, some Democrats, like Senator Adam Schiff, continued to spread these unproven allegations to the public.