Declassification Would Refute Pretext of Russia Probe, Lawmaker Says

Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), questions Deputy Assistant FBI Director Peter Strzok during a joint committee hearing of the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 12, 2018. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Congressmen have viewed classified documents containing exculpatory evidence that undermines the pretext of the investigation of alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas).

The FBI began a counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign in late July 2016, with the pretext for the probe being a meeting between Trump campaign associate George Papadopoulos and Australian diplomat Alexander Downer. The pair allegedly spoke about Russians being in possession of Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails.