All Things with Kim Strassel

The Political Origins of the Russia 'Collusion' Hoax

Jul 29, 2025
Joining the discussion is Michael Shellenberger, an investigative journalist who has closely tracked the Russia collusion narrative for years. They delve into recently declassified documents revealing the Obama administration's manipulation of intelligence. The conversation tackles the inconsistencies in the intelligence community's assessments and the political motivations driving the collusion claims. They also critique the media's role in perpetuating the narrative and call for reforms to enhance transparency and accountability in political discourse.
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INSIGHT

Partisan Intel Manipulation Uncovered

  • The Russia collusion narrative was largely driven by partisan leaders, not rank-and-file intelligence analysts.
  • This manipulated intelligence led to a false January 2017 assessment implicating Putin in aiding Trump's election.
INSIGHT

HIPSE Report Reveals Fraud

  • The House Intelligence Committee report (HIPSE) exposes the 2017 assessment as a fraud against the American people.
  • It underscores the severe consequences of intelligence community bias in the political process.
INSIGHT

Rank-and-File Intel Had Low Confidence

  • Pre-election intelligence showed only low confidence in Russia's attempts to influence the election through hacking.
  • The intelligence community did not find evidence Putin favored Trump before political leaders pushed a different narrative.
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