Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR) have dropped a political nuke on Washington: Smoking-gun thumb drives containing unreviewed evidence in the Hillary Clinton email scandal have been sitting in an FBI office collecting dust for over SIX YEARS.
The letter, addressed directly to FBI Director Kash Patel, demands that the unevaluated materials — which include sensitive intelligence, foreign communications, and damning evidence related to the Clinton Foundation and Barack Obama — be immediately reviewed and exposed to the American people.
“Thumb drives containing unreviewed info on the Clinton email scandal & mishandling of highly classified info [have] been sitting at an FBI offshoot office since 2018. I sent a letter [with] House Intel Chair Crawford asking [Director] Patel [to] review materials & report back ASAP,” Grassley wrote on X.
Thumb drives containing unreviewed info on Clinton email scandal&mishandling of highly classified info hv been sitting at an FBI offshoot office since 2018 I sent a letter w House Intel Chair Crawford asking Dir Patel 2 review materials&report back ASAP
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) July 29, 2025
According to the press release, “This untapped and unreviewed information has lived within thumb drives in the FBI’s custody inside a Northern Virginia offshoot office of the FBI’s Washington Field Office since 2018. This letter was sent in response to Chairman Grassley’s efforts to get the appendix to the DOJ OIG’s June 2018 report reviewing the DOJ and FBI’s handling of the Clinton investigation, also known as the “Clinton annex,” declassified.”
Grassley and Crawford issued the following statement:
“The revelations contained in the declassified OIG appendix are at the heart of why the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) became distrusted by so many under your agency’s prior directors: a failure to impartially conduct its law enforcement and intelligence mission. Concerning the issue at hand, Comey’s FBI shockingly failed to review and exploit evidence in its own possession, even though they admitted in written memos the information was necessary to conduct a ‘thorough and complete investigation.’ The FBI also failed to review and exploit other foreign intelligence information.”
“Therefore, we now write to stress the importance that this material be immediately dug out from hiding and properly assessed. How evidence which purportedly includes information related to ‘former President Barack Obama’s emails’ and ‘network infrastructure diagrams for U.S. government classified networks,’ remained unreviewed by the preeminent law enforcement agency in the world is mind-numbing. We know you will not similarly ignore evidence in your agency’s possession, no matter where its exploitation or conclusions might lead.”
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Here’s What Was Found Inside Those FBI Burn Bags. Yes, It’s About the Russian Collusion Hoax
So, who’s going to jail? Who’s being questioned? FBI Director Kash Patel revealed today that mountains of Russian collusion documents were found in burn bags. Thousands of documents were discovered, including the annex to the Durham report, which was an investigation initiated by former Attorney General William Barr regarding the origins of the Russian collusion hoax.
That document alone is the subject of a declassification process between the CIA and the FBI. And there’s a reason why whoever set this burn bag protocol in motion would want these files destroyed: Sources told Fox News that the material involved had evidence from foreign intelligence sources outlining that the FBI would be one of the agencies at the forefront in spreading the collusion hoax, and this would be done before the launch of Crossfire Hurricane, the official counterintelligence probe. It’s another layer to the ongoing scandal wherein Obama’s intelligence chiefs willfully manipulated reports and weaponized the IC to go after Donald Trump (via Fox News) [emphasis mine]:
FBI Director Kash Patel found a trove of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump–Russia probe buried in multiple “burn bags” in a secret room inside the bureau, sources told Fox News Digital.
Sources told Fox News Digital that the “burn bag” system is used to destroy documents designated as classified or higher.
Sources told Fox News Digital that multiple burn bags were found and filled with thousands of documents.
Sources told Fox News Digital that one of the documents FBI officials found in a burn bag was the classified annex to former special counsel John Durham’s final report, which includes the underlying intelligence he reviewed.
[…]
Sources exclusively briefed Fox News Digital on some of the contents of the classified annex — including that the U.S. intelligence community had credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play a role in spreading the alleged Trump–Russia collusion narrative — before the bureau ever launched its controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe.
A source familiar with the contents of the classified annex told Fox News Digital that while it may not have been exactly clear in the moment what the intelligence collection meant, with the benefit of hindsight, it predicted the FBI’s next move “with alarming specificity.”
“Ultimately, the release of the classified annex will lend more credibility to the assertion that there was a coordinated plan inside the U.S. government to help the Clinton campaign stir up controversy connecting Trump to Russia,” the source, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters that have not yet been made public, told Fox News Digital.
[…]
Patel, in a June interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, revealed that he found a room full of documents and computer hard drives “that no one had ever seen or heard of.”
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REPORT: This guy is still secretly running key parts of the CIA…
There’s a reason the CIA never really got cleaned up under Trump, and it’s not because he didn’t try. The deeper truth is that while President Trump was in office, Barack Obama’s CIA was still fully operational. And in many ways, it still is today.
Turns out, Brennan never really left. His loyalists are still running the show at the CIA, blocking reform and quietly steering the agency against Trump’s America First agenda. He might be out of sight, but make no mistake, his fingerprints are still all over Langley.
The news is filled with revelations concerning the actions of senior CIA officers in 2016 as a plot took shape to deny Donald Trump the White House. Fake allegations of collusion between Trump and Putin would be pushed via the vehicle of a garbage dossier paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party… Are senior CIA officers now loyal to the sitting President and acting in accordance with the Constitution, or are they still taking direction from people like John Brennan?
This is the main question. It’s not just about the past; it’s about whether the CIA is loyal to the American people or to some unelected cabal of Obama-era thugs still calling the shots behind the curtain. The And Magazine piece goes on:
“Brennan controlled promotions in the agency and NSA through Hayden for about 12 years… After 12 years of seeding the intel community, you can permanently alter the complexion and effectiveness of any federal department.” —Former Senior CIA Operations Officer
“Brennan’s loyalists still run the top levels of the CIA.” —J. Michael Waller, Former CIA Operative
The analysts who crafted the corrupt Intelligence Community Assessment (“ICA”) on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of disgraced former CIA Director John Brennan are, for example, still in place at CIA… Some of them have been promoted.
If you thought “Russiagate” was some bygone relic of the past, guess again. The exact same people who helped launch the Trump-Russia hoax are still collecting paychecks, and they’re still holding tremendous power. The swamp was never drained. Actually, they just dug in deeper.
But here’s the part most people miss: Barack Obama never really cared about traditional legacy-building like a typical politician. He didn’t have any major domestic achievements. No great economic recoveries. But what he did do was reshape the intel community in his image.
The And Magazine piece shares more:
“Brennan controlled promotions in the agency and NSA through Hayden for about 12 years. First from the White House for 4 years, then as DCI. The agency was disloyal to their constitutional oath for the first term of Trump and simply resisted or ignored Trump during his first term. Then Brennan heavily influenced and steered the agency during Biden’s term. After 12 years of seeding the intel community, you can permanently alter the complexion and effectiveness of any federal department.”
— Former Senior CIA Operations Officer Speaking Anonymously“Brennan’s loyalists still run the top levels of the CIA.”
— J. Michael Waller, Former CIA Operative
Obama’s legacy is the complete weaponization of the CIA, NSA, and FBI against his political opponents. And it’s that vast machinery, which was built under Brennan and now still manned by his loyalists, that did the dirty work during Trump’s first term.
That’s why every attempt at reform was slow-walked or fully ignored. Our intel agencies weren’t just being uncooperative; they were still taking orders from the last guy.
That’s the bad news—and sadly, it’s a situation we’re still dealing with today. So, what’s the fix? Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater and a former CIA asset, spelled it out in plain terms during a recent interview with Steve Bannon.
BANNON: What would you tell Ratcliffe today he should do?
PRINCE: Fire the bottom 40% of the people and unload most of the contracted positions as well.
The fact is, during COVID, when only 20% of the building was showing up, the net collection and quality of intelligence went up substantially. What does that tell you? You have way, way, way too many bodies. Way too many people with clearances. Just way too much nonsense.
And that’s why any actual good intelligence also gets leaked because there’s just too many people that are in that circle of knowledge.
Erik points out that unlike other intel agencies that are twisted and tied down by red tape, the CIA is actually ripe for reform. Just fire the dead weight and start fresh.
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Are Senior CIA Personnel Still Taking Direction From John Brennan?
The news is filled with revelations concerning the actions of senior CIA officers in 2016 as a plot took shape to deny Donald Trump the White House. Fake allegations of collusion between Trump and Putin would be pushed via the vehicle of a garbage dossier paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party. It did not matter what the American people wanted; the Praetorians would decide who would rule.
That we are finally seeing disclosure of the facts concerning this coup attempt is gratifying. The prospect that people will go to jail, for much more than perjury, gives us hope that the rule of law may endure and, with it, the republic. Still, this begs the question.
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How far have we come from 2016? Have things changed? Are senior CIA officers now loyal to the sitting President and acting in accordance with the Constitution, or are they still taking direction from people like John Brennan?
Sources talking to AND Magazine say clearly that inside CIA, significant numbers of powerful, senior officers are still taking direction from Brennan and doing all they can to ensure that no true lasting reform takes hold. This is not the view of a few isolated individuals. This is the near-universal opinion of those with access to what is happening inside the Agency right now.
“Brennan controlled promotions in the agency and NSA through Hayden for about 12 years. First from the White House for 4 years, then as DCI. The agency was disloyal to their constitutional oath for the first term of Trump and simply resisted or ignored Trump during his first term. Then Brennan heavily influenced and steered the agency during Biden’s term. After 12 years of seeding the intel community, you can permanently alter the complexion and effectiveness of any federal department.”
Former Senior CIA Operations Officer Speaking Anonymously
“Brennan’s loyalists still run the top levels of the CIA.”
J. Michael Waller, Former CIA Operative
The average person probably thinks there has been some kind of wholesale house cleaning at Langley. Nothing could be further from the truth. Outside of a handful of positions, the same people are in charge as were under Biden. As new appointments are made, all too often, they are being made from the ranks of Brennan devotees that still crowd the top levels of the organization.
The analysts who crafted the corrupt Intelligence Community Assessment (“ICA”) on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of disgraced former CIA Director John Brennan are, for example, still in place at CIA. Those individuals were interviewed by Congress recently, still in place at their desks. Some of them have been promoted since they participated in crafting the false Russiagate narrative.
Brennan himself is not hiding in a cabin somewhere in obscurity. He continues to live in Washington, DC. He is a principal with WestExec Advisors, which is, in effect, the next Democratic administration in exile. Amongst the anti-Trump crowd, he is a hero, the man who fought to keep the “great unwashed” from daring to presume they could decide who would be President.
Outside CIA, DNI Tulsi Gabbard seems to fully understand the necessity to clean out the stay-behind assets the Deep State has planted in the Intelligence Community. She is making steady progress in replacing those who are obviously working against President Trump and reform. Within CIA so far, the progress seems a great deal less significant.
Michael T. Flynn, LTG, USA, (RET)
John Kiriakou, former CIA analyst
When an operation goes sideways, you don’t just fold your tent and go home. You seal off compartments, cut away those portions of your network you cannot save, and continue to operate. You exercise patience. You slow the pace of your activities where you must.
But, you don’t quit. You don’t shut down. You play the long game and focus on your next moves.
The only way to counter this kind of thing is to tear the entire network out by the roots. You identify everyone you consider compromised, thank them for their service, and send them on their way. You build a new structure with individuals you can trust implicitly and who you know are not playing for the other team.
We have not yet done that at CIA. The cost may be immeasurable. There may be a great many senior officers inside the organization who are still taking orders from John Brennan.
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