The Cast of the Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax

The following is an archive of “bios” of more than 200 of the most prominent people who kept the Trump-Russia collusion hoax alive, along with examples of their contributions—all carefully documented by CRC researchers.

For a more detailed introduction to the archive, see “Introducing the Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax Archive.”

The Cast

Activists

DNC and Clinton Associates

Media: BuzzFeed | CNN | Entertainment | MSNBC | NYT | Other)

Members of Congress

Foreign Officials

Obama/Comey-Era Officials: A–C | D–M | N–R | S–Z

Editor’s Note

Obama/Comey-Era Officials

Zainab Ahmad. Special Counsel Prosecutor. Investigated multiple Trump associates. Prosecuted former National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn for false statements to FBI. Department of Justice dropped all charges against Flynn in May 2020 when exculpatory information in an FBI note of January 2017 was made public through court filings.

Trisha Anderson. FBI Deputy General Counsel. In October 2016, she signed an FISA warrant application improperly targeting Trump campaign advisor Carter Page. Testified before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees in August 2018 that two higher officials—FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates—had already signed before she did. Among 53 Obama/Comey-era officials targeted by subpoenas from Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2020 regarding Crossfire Hurricane and the origins of Trump-Russia investigations.

Greg Andres. Special Counsel Prosecutor. Prosecuted Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates. Manafort was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison; Gates to 45 days—both for financial crimes unrelated to Trump-Russia collusion, the stated rationale for investigation.

Brian Auten. U.S. government intelligence analyst. Among 53 Obama/Comey-era officials targeted by subpoenas from Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2020 regarding Crossfire Hurricane and origins of Trump-Russia investigations.

David Axelrod. Former Chief Strategist, Barack Obama presidential campaigns. Senior Advisor to the President. Described June 2016 meeting of Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and advisor Jared Kushner with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya in Trump Tower as “very close to espionage,” yet did not mention DNC-funded Fusion GPS’s role in providing materials to Veselnitskaya for the occasion.

James Baker (FBI). Former FBI General Counsel. Reassigned from post in December 2017 and resigned from the FBI May 2018. House Judiciary and Oversight Committee testimony from October 2018 shows Baker was under criminal investigation for alleged leaks to journalists David Corn of Mother Jones and Mike Isikoff of Yahoo. After leaving the FBI, Baker held positions at the R Street Institute and Brookings Institution and as a CNN legal analyst. In June 2020 Twitter announced Baker had joined its legal team.

James Baker (DOD). Director, Office of Net Assessment (ONA), U.S. Department of Defense. In January 2020, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent letter to Baker and announced expanded probe into ONA contract compliance after reviewing “troubling documents” related to FBI informant, Stephan Halper. Per court documents, Michael Flynn’s legal team believes Baker was behind leak to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius about his phone calls with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

Joe Biden. Former U.S. Vice President. Senior official within the administration that improperly surveilled and investigated opposition presidential campaign and transition team. Per January 2017 memo from outgoing National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Biden was present at January 5, 2017, White House meeting where President Obama and FBI Director James Comey allegedly discussed withholding information from incoming administration regarding Russia. Unmasked identity of Gen. Michael Flynn.

Dana Boente. Former Acting Attorney General. In March 2017, waived standard operating procedure to authorize FBI Director James Comey to publicly announce active investigation into the Trump campaign during nationally televised House Intelligence Committee testimony. Reassigned from Department of Justice to become FBI General Counsel, then later fired as details of Flynn investigation became public.

Jennifer Boone. FBI Deputy Assistant Director, Counterintelligence Division. Among 53 Obama/Comey-era officials targeted by subpoenas from Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2020 regarding Crossfire Hurricane and origins of Trump-Russia investigations.

John Brennan. CIA Director. Reportedly under investigation (as of December 2019) by U.S. Attorney John Durham over CIA assessments and public statements on the now-discredited Steele dossier, which alleged vast conspiracy between Trump campaign and Russia. Signed with MSNBC/NBC as an analyst in February 2018. In a NY Times opinion piece, Brennan called Trump’s denial of Russia collusion “hogwash.” Unmasked identity of Gen. Michael Flynn.

Josh Campbell. Special Assistant to former FBI Director James Comey. CNN law enforcement analyst. Author of Crossfire Hurricane: Inside Donald Trump’s War on the FBI. Used FBI experience to provide legitimacy for CNN reports that insinuated guilt of Trump and associates while omitting exculpatory information.

John Carlin. Assistant Attorney General. Former Chief of Staff to then-FBI Director Robert Mueller. Key figure in FISA abuse scandal, which improperly targeted Trump campaign advisor Carter Page. Department of Justice Inspector General Report outlined “17 significant errors or omissions” in FISA warrant applications.

James Clapper. Director of National Intelligence (DNI). House Intelligence Committee transcripts from 2017 released in May 2020 show Clapper was unaware of any direct evidence showing Trump-Russia collusion. Despite this, Clapper legitimized the Comey investigation of collusion in an interview with MSNBC in May 2017, saying that a “cloud” was hanging over the Trump administration because of the collusion allegation. In December 2017, Clapper asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was managing President Trump as if Trump were an intelligence asset Putin had recruited. Clapper also unmasked the identity of Gen. Michael Flynn.

Kevin Clinesmith. FBI Attorney. Altered CIA email to delete exculpatory information in FISA warrant application targeting Trump advisor Carter Page. Department of Justice Inspector General referred for criminal proceedings. In November 2016 after Trump’s election, wrote series of notable text messages, including “Viva la Resistance.” Later served as a Special Counsel Attorney.

James Comey. FBI Director. Led FBI through an unprecedented investigation of a presidential campaign, transition, and administration that used improper surveillance and leaks to media. In April 2018, hinting at the most salacious of the claims from now-discredited Steele dossier, he alleged Russians may have blackmail material on President Trump. Decided to publicly announce an active investigation into the Trump campaign during House Intelligence Committee testimony in March 2017 on live national television. Department of Justice Inspector General referred Comey for criminal prosecution in September 2019. Unmasked identity of Gen. Michael Flynn.

Patrick Conlon. Director, Obama White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (OIA). Unmasked identity of Gen. Michael Flynn. Among 53 Obama/Comey-era officials targeted by subpoenas from Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2020 regarding Crossfire Hurricane and origins of Trump-Russia investigations.

Editor’s Note

The bios will be posted in batches. Hyperlinks in the table of contents and index will become active as each batch is added. We will continue to update and expand the archive as circumstances dictate.