CIA Memo Reignites Claims That Obama-Era Officials Framed Trump Over Russia Collusion

A newly declassified “lessons-learned” review — commissioned by CIA Director John Ratcliffe — sharply criticizes the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that claimed Russia interfered to help Donald Trump win. The memo denounces former CIA Director John Brennan, ex-FBI Director James Comey, and DNI James Clapper for political interference, rushed procedures, and reliance on unverified material, notably the Steele dossier. Career CIA analysts had warned the dossier would undermine the assessment, but Brennan reportedly overrode objections rvmnews.com+4americanalmanac.com+4san.com+4politico.com+8apnews.com+8true.news+8.

The dossier — funded by the Clinton campaign via Fusion GPS — was branded “garbage” by critics and never corroborated by the FBI or Steele himself .

Following this review, the FBI has launched criminal investigations into Brennan and Comey for potentially lying to Congress, especially about the dossier’s role in the ICA huffingtonpost.es+3thedailybeast.com+3nypost.com+3. President Trump has praised these probes, calling the former officials “crooked” and demanding justice washingtonpost.com+12axios.com+12nypost.com+12.

While the memo faults the process, it does not dispute broader conclusions about Russian election interference drawn by Mueller and later congressional inquiries san.com+2politico.com+2apnews.com+2.