In a dramatic turn for the long-contentious Trump–Russia investigation, FBI Director Kash Patel has delivered hundreds of pages of declassified documents to Congress as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping effort to reveal the full scope of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe. Nearly 700 pages—dubbed the “Crossfire Hurricane Redacted Binder” and dated April 9, 2025—were also obtained exclusively by Just the News.
This marks the culmination of a declassification effort ordered by Trump in March 2025, following a years-long battle with elements of the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities to expose the origins and conduct of the FBI’s investigation into false allegations of Trump–Russia collusion.
Four-Year Battle Comes to a Head
The release comes after persistent resistance from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI under the Biden administration, led by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and former FBI Director Christopher Wray. The agencies repeatedly blocked public disclosure of the records, even after Trump attempted to declassify them during the final days of his first term in January 2021.
Trump’s new executive order, titled “Immediate Declassification of Materials Related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation,” reasserted his authority to declassify the records initially withheld by his own DOJ just hours before he left office in 2021.
“I have determined that all of the materials referenced in the Presidential Memorandum of January 19, 2021 … are no longer classified,” Trump said in the March 2025 announcement, reaffirming his original directive and instructing Patel to deliver the documents to Congress.
The Binder That Never Saw Daylight—Until Now
At the heart of the controversy is the so-called Crossfire Hurricane Binder, a compilation of documents related to the FBI’s investigation into allegations that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russian operatives. Trump had ordered the binder to be declassified and made public in 2021, and then–White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows followed up with a directive on January 20, 2021, instructing the DOJ to release the materials.
But that never happened. The Justice Department cited the need for a Privacy Act review, and the FBI’s January 17, 2021, submission recommended that key passages remain classified. Trump accepted those redactions but declassified the rest. His declassification order was ultimately ignored after he left office.
Now, Patel’s delivery of the binder to Congress fulfills Trump’s long-delayed order and breaks a bureaucratic logjam that lasted more than four years.
Mueller, Horowitz, Durham Reports Vindicated Trump
The release of the binder coincides with mounting evidence—compiled over years—that the Trump–Russia collusion narrative lacked substantiation:
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Robert Mueller’s two-year special counsel probe concluded in 2019 that it “did not establish” any criminal conspiracy between Trump or his campaign and the Russian government.
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DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report flagged “serious performance failures” by the FBI, particularly in how the agency relied on the now-discredited Steele dossier to obtain FISA warrants on Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
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John Durham’s 2023 report went further, asserting that U.S. intelligence agencies had no actual evidence of collusion at the outset of the Crossfire Hurricane probe. Durham criticized the FBI for continuing the investigation despite lacking corroboration of any claims in the Steele dossier, which had been funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign through law firm Perkins Coie and opposition research firm Fusion GPS.
Democrats’ Narrative Under Fire
Even as multiple investigations dismantled the collusion allegations, high-profile Democrats such as then-Rep. Adam Schiff continued to promote the theory in public forums, fueling years of media coverage and political attacks on Trump.
Now, with Patel at the helm of the FBI under a second Trump administration, the release of the documents may significantly reshape public and historical perception of the Crossfire Hurricane saga.
A Political and Institutional Reckoning?
The document release could spark renewed scrutiny of the FBI and DOJ leadership under the Obama and Biden administrations, as well as reframe how the public understands the roots of the Russia probe. Trump and his allies have long characterized Crossfire Hurricane as a politically motivated operation designed to damage his presidency.
In a statement, Patel said the release was long overdue.
“The American people deserve to know the truth about how their intelligence agencies were weaponized against a presidential campaign and sitting president,” Patel said. “Transparency is not optional in a constitutional republic.”
Trump echoed that sentiment, calling the release “a victory for truth and accountability.”
What’s Next?
Congressional committees are expected to begin reviewing the documents immediately, and Republican leaders are signaling possible investigations or public hearings based on the new material.
With the long-sealed records now public, legal analysts anticipate further examination of whether FBI officials acted improperly—or even illegally—in launching and sustaining the probe.
Summary: Key Points
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Nearly 700 pages from the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation have been declassified and sent to Congress.
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Trump’s March 2025 executive order reversed the DOJ’s previous refusal to declassify the documents.
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Multiple reports (Mueller, Horowitz, Durham) found no evidence of Trump–Russia collusion and heavily criticized the FBI.
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The Steele dossier, central to the FBI’s case, was never corroborated and was funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
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The release could trigger further investigations into the intelligence community’s conduct during the 2016 election cycle.
Fact Check:
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✅ Trump signed a new executive order in March 2025 to complete the declassification of Crossfire Hurricane materials.
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✅ Nearly 700 pages of declassified documents were delivered to Congress by FBI Director Kash Patel.
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✅ Trump previously attempted to declassify the same records on January 19, 2021, before leaving office.
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✅ The Steele dossier was a central element of the FBI’s probe, funded by Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
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✅ Multiple federal investigations found no evidence of collusion and criticized the FBI’s conduct.
This long-awaited release may mark the final chapter in one of the most controversial investigations in modern U.S. history—and a potentially defining moment in the Trump administration’s push for institutional
