President Trump said he pulled the nuclear option Tuesday by ordering mass declassification of all documents related to Russia and Hillary Clinton.
Then he said he’d already done this.
Mr. Trump approvingly retweeted Tuesday evening a claim that the FBI and CIA knew Russia collusion was a political hoax and then added his response.
“I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax,” he said.
His order also covered “the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal,” which conservatives have long charged was a half-hearted “investigation” intended to provide cover for Mrs. Clinton.
The kicker was at the end: “No redactions!”
I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions! https://t.co/GgnHh9GOiq
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
Later, he walked the news back, saying everything already was declassified but bureaucrats were slow-walking the releases.
“All Russia Hoax Scandal information was Declassified by me long ago. Unfortunately for our Country, people have acted very slowly, especially since it is perhaps the biggest political crime in the history of our Country. Act!!!” he wrote.
It wasn’t immediately clear what documents would be released and what they might reveal. But the Washington Times reported earlier Tuesday that the CIA wrote a highly classified three-page memo to FBI Director James B. Comey and agent Peter Strzok telling them Mrs. Clinton had approved a plan to blame Russian computer hacking of her on Mr. Trump.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.