Trump Russiagate papers found in secret room, FBI director claims
Kash Patel's staff allegedly found the sensitive papers in 'burn bags' earmarked for destruction in a secret room at the FBI headquarters, Fox News reported, in the administration's latest suggestion of a deep state conspiracy.
Claims of a secret room at the Hoover Building in Washington were first made by Patel on Joe Rogan's podcast in early June.
Patel claims there is a secret room inside the J Edgar Hoover building, the FBI headquarters in Washington
ERIC LEE/GETTY IMAGES
A controversial choice to lead the US domestic security service because of his history of fanning conspiracy theories, Patel's latest claim was amplified on social media by pro-Trump voices and branded a distraction by critics.
'Apparently the 'burn bag' system is used to destroy documents designated as classified or higher,' wrote Charlie Kirk, founder of the Maga student movement Turning Point Action, on X. 'Sources confirm that the burn bags were found filled with thousands of documents. What was the FBI hiding in those bags marked for destruction?'
Patel's claims follow recent allegations of 'treason' levelled by Trump at Barack Obama and some of his senior officials for their role in initiating the inquiry into Russian election interference and links with the 2016 Trump campaign. This resulted in the Mueller report which found numerous examples of 'sweeping and systematic' Russian interference but no proof of collusion with the Trump campaign.
Obama's office called the treason allegations 'outrageous' and 'a weak attempt at distraction' at a time when the president and his team are battling criticism for failing to release all the material they have on Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender who was friends with many powerful people including Trump.
The investigation into Russian involvement in the US elections was led by Robert Mueller
AP/CAROLYN KASTER
The latest documents were reported to include a classified annex to the Durham report, the investigation into the origins of the Mueller inquiry which concluded that the FBI suffered from 'confirmation bias' in rushing ahead with its Russia investigation and that it was not merited.
Unnamed sources told Fox News that the annex showed that 'the US intelligence community had credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play a role in spreading the alleged Trump–Russia collusion narrative'. The foreign sources are not identified and there is no indication as to whether the information was assessed as reliable or not.
Washington seems awash with conspiracy theories this summer and Trump appeared to muddle the latest Patel claims with the swirling Epstein controversy.
Trump said on Wednesday that the Epstein files controversy was a 'scam set up by the Democrats'
REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN
During an Oval Office event on Wednesday, Trump did not understand a reporter who asked: 'Did you know Kash Patel reportedly found burn bags of Russiagate materials — I'd love to get your thoughts on that.'
Trump replied: 'He said what? … I don't know what you mean by that statement.'
The reporter clarified: 'Bags full of Russiagate documents.'
Trump then replied: 'Oh, burn bags, I thought you said 'appointed a man named Burn Bag'.'
He then seemed to give his standard response to questions about his role in the Epstein document controversy, saying: 'I want everything to be shown, as long as it is fair and reasonable … the whole thing is a scam. It is a scam set up by the Democrats … I would like to see people exposed that might be bad.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
13 minutes ago
- The Sun
Devil's Den ‘killer' Andrew James McGann ‘would tickle pupils' and even ‘told girl ‘I wish you could be my girlfriend''
THE former teacher accused of killing a couple in front of their children allegedly tickled pupils and is said to have put a little girl on his lap. Suspect Andrew James McGann, 28, spent the last few years moving from school to school after disturbing allegations about his creepy behaviour emerged. 3 3 3 McGann was set to start teaching third grade next week, but is now behind bars after allegedly murdering Clinton Brink and his wife, Cristen Brink, while their two daughters, 7 and 9, ran to safety. After a five-day manhunt, McGann was arrested mid-haircut at a salon on Thursday and admitted to cops that he killed the Brinks in Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas on Saturday, police said. McGann now faces charges of two counts of capital murder and could face the death penalty for the crime. One distressed parent at his former Texas school told the New York Post that McGann once asked a little girl to be his "girlfriend" after putting her on his lap. The dad, whose son was occasionally in his class, fumed: "This monster was around our children. 'Mr. McGann was giving a lot of special treatment to girls in particular. "He was giving them candy, bringing them Sonic drinks, playing tag with them, tickling them, just really suspect behaviour." The school in question, Lewisville ISD, said that McGann was placed on administrative leave after "concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favouritism'. But the investigation found no evidence against the suspected killer while he was employed between 2022 to 2023, after which he resigned. Devil dentist spent days slowly killing wife with poisoned protein shakes - before giving her deadly cyanide in hospital McGann, who had just moved from Oklahoma to the Washington County area in northwest Arkansas to start a new teaching role, was arrested on Wednesday inside Lupita's Beauty Salon in Springdale. Clinton was stabbed first, then Cristen got her daughters to safety before she came back to help her husband and was also stabbed to death, Arkansas State Police said at a press conference on Thursday. Chilling audio revealed the moment that police found the parents' bodies after the girls fled to a nearby visitor center for help. DNA taken from McGann matched DNA from the horrific scene in the park, police said. Cops believe McGann, who had no criminal history, acted alone and that it was a random attack because he didn't know the Brinks. Investigators are still trying to determine a motive. TEACHING HISTORY McGann had recently moved to the area as he was hired as a "teacher candidate" for the upcoming school year, Springdale Public Schools said in a statement to The U.S. Sun. "This individual has not at any time come into contact with Springdale students or the families we serve," SPS said. While he hadn't yet met his potential Arkansas students, McGann had previously got in trouble for inappropriate contact during his first year teaching. After graduating from Oklahoma State University with a degree in elementary education in May 2022, he moved to northwestern Texas to teach fourth-grade math at Donald Elementary in Flower Mound. "The individual was placed on administrative leave in the spring of 2023 following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism," the school district, Lewisville ISD, said in a statement shared with The U.S. Sun. "An internal investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students. The teacher resigned from the district in May 2023." 'PRETTY DISINTERESTED' Sierra Marcum, a mom of one of McGann's former students at Donald Elementary, said the teacher was the "most standoffish teacher she had ever met," according to the Associated Press. 'Pretty cold. You could ask him a question, and he would give you a one-word response,' Marcum told the outlet. 'Overall, just pretty disinterested in his students.' Marcum claimed that her son noticed inappropriate behaviour from him towards little girls in his class, but the school district didn't comment on the allegation. After leaving Texas, McGann went back to the state of Oklahoma, where he worked as a fifth-grade science and social studies teacher for Broken Arrow Public Schools during the 2023-2024 school year. "As with all employees hired by the district, he was subjected to and passed the legally required background checks prior to being hired," Broken Arrow Public Schools said in a statement to The U.S. Sun. The district said he told them he left the position to work out of state, but instead took a job at a small nearby district in the Tulsa area. However, he stayed in Oklahoma and taught at Sand Springs Public Schools, near Tulsa, from summer 2024 until May of this year. He passed all background checks for the job, the district said in a statement. He resigned to take a job in another state. McGann had not yet started his job in Arkansas at Springdale Public Schools, the district confirmed. On Wednesday evening, he was arrested while getting a haircut at Lupita's Beauty Salon and Barber Shop, which is just about a 30-minute drive from where he allegedly slaughtered the Brinks. Surveillance footage from the salon showed cops taking the barber cape off McGann before putting him in handcuffs.
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Charlottesville review – urgent voices against the alt-right's extremist ideology
'If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention,' says one of the voices in this urgent verbatim show about the rise of the 'alt-right'. Eight years ago this month, a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulted in three deaths and at least 19 serious injuries. If it did not attract the same level of global attention as the mob attack on the US Capitol three-and-a-half years later, it raised a similar red flag about the rise of extremist ideology in the US and beyond. Priyanka Shetty was an acting student at the University of Virginia at the time of the clash between protesters and counter-protesters and set about recording the community's responses. She spoke to fellow citizens, trawled far right websites, found contemporary news reports and, more recently, got hold of court transcripts from the prosecution of the white-supremacist conspirators. In a polished and confident performance, directed by Yury Urnov for Richard Jordan and Yellow Raincoat productions, she snaps quickly from voice to voice to create a social collage: those who saw trouble coming, those blind-sided by it and those defiant in their racist tribalism. Lawyers talk about first amendment rights, officials talk about the joy of life in a friendly college town and witnesses comment on the indifference of police officers as violence erupted. The tapestry of perspectives makes Charlottesville not just an obvious condemnation of loathsome beliefs, but a richer vision of how such disruption tears at the social fabric. Going a step further, the Indian-born Shetty weaves in her own experience of discrimination: a joke in class about her appearance; failing to get a part in either of the college productions; her complaints brushed aside by a dismissive teacher. Isolated incidents or part of a racist continuum that stretches from small acts of exclusion to the murderous ideology of fascism? At the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, until 25 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Knife attacker is on the run after teenager, 19, is stabbed to death in Powerleague football car park
A murder investigation is underway after a teenager was stabbed to death. The 19-year-old man was attacked just before 9pm on Friday in a car park on Market Street in Bury, Greater Manchester. He suffered several stab wounds and later died from his injuries. No arrests have been made. Detective Chief Inspector John Charlton, from Greater Manchester Police 's major incident team, said the victim's family were being supported. He said: 'This incident will have shocked the community and distressed anyone who witnessed it, but we believe this was a targeted attack with no wider threat. 'We have several scenes in place with the investigation ongoing in order to identify and apprehend the offenders responsible. 'There will be officers in the area today and in the coming days as we are determined to bring the family the answers they deserve. Police have urged anyone with information to call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
