The truth about federal agents framing Trump in his first term is out. But there’s a lot more to uncover.
And now the FBI has revealed a key deep state agent who was behind the Russiagate hoax all along.
FBI Memos Expose Comey’s Media Manipulation in Russia Hoax
Newly declassified FBI memos, delivered to Congress by Director Kash Patel, have blown the lid off a calculated effort by former FBI Director James Comey to manipulate the media and push the now-debunked Russia collusion narrative against President Donald Trump. The documents reveal a shocking web of leaks and backchannel communications designed to smear Trump and protect Comey’s tarnished reputation.
The FBI’s “Arctic Haze” investigation, launched in mid-August 2017, uncovered how Comey used his longtime friend, Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, as a conduit to feed information to The New York Times. Richman admitted to agents that he routinely communicated with Times reporter Michael Schmidt, whose work contributed to the paper’s 2018 Pulitzer Prize for stories on Russian election interference. The goal, Richman confessed, was “to correct stories critical of Comey, the FBI and to shape future press coverage” outside official FBI channels.
Richman, granted Top Secret clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) by Comey in 2015, admitted to sharing sensitive details with reporters, sometimes anonymously. While he insisted he did not believe he had confirmed or provided classified intelligence, he told agents he could only deny leaking “with a discount.” As one memo starkly noted, “Richman was pretty sure he did not confirm the Classified Information. However, Richman told the interviewing agents he was sure ‘with a discount’ that he did not tell Schmidt about the Classified Information.”
The Arctic Haze probe zeroed in on four news articles from 2017, including a New York Times piece by Schmidt and others titled “Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. from Politics. Then He Shaped an Election.” This article, laced with leaked classified information, falsely portrayed Comey as a principled figure navigating political waters with integrity. Richman was quoted defending his friend, saying, “Jim sees his role as apolitical and independent. The F.B.I. director, even as he reports to the attorney general, often has to stand apart from his boss.”
The same article claimed Comey “conducted the investigation by the book” regarding the Trump-Russia probe—a claim now exposed as misleading by the FBI’s own findings. Other articles, including Washington Post stories and a Wall Street Journal piece, also contained leaked classified details, fueling the Russia collusion narrative that gripped the nation.
Despite the evidence, the Justice Department declined to pursue criminal charges against Comey, Richman, or others, including now-Sen. Adam Schiff, citing uncertainty about who leaked what and when. This decision has sparked outrage among conservatives, who see it as yet another example of the Deep State protecting its own while targeting Trump.
The memos also reveal a career intelligence officer’s repeated warnings to the FBI, starting in 2017, that then-Rep. Adam Schiff approved leaking classified information to smear Trump. Schiff, a vocal Trump critic, has denied these allegations, but the accusations add fuel to the narrative of a coordinated effort to undermine the president.
Comey’s media manipulation wasn’t limited to the Russia hoax. The memos show he hired Richman as a Special Government Employee (SGE) in 2015, granting him access to classified information to discuss “sensitive matters” outside the FBI’s regular leadership. Richman’s relationship with Schmidt, dating back to 2008, made him the perfect intermediary to shape narratives in Comey’s favor.
After Trump fired Comey in 2017, the former director leaned on Richman to leak memos about Trump’s alleged comments on Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn. Comey later admitted to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz that his goal was to “prompt the appointment of a special counsel.” His plan worked—Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel just days after a May 16, 2017, New York Times article by Schmidt, titled “Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation.”
Horowitz’s 2019 report slammed Comey for his “unauthorized disclosure of sensitive law enforcement information” to achieve a “personally desired outcome.” Despite a criminal referral, the DOJ declined to prosecute, further infuriating those who demand accountability for the FBI’s actions.
The FBI’s investigation also uncovered Comey’s concerns about classified information related to then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, which influenced his decision to publicly announce in 2016 that no reasonable prosecutor would charge Hillary Clinton over her email scandal. Comey told Richman about this “weird classified material,” which the FBI later confirmed shaped his unilateral actions.
Other FBI leak investigations, code-named Tropic Vortex, Foggy Falls, Riding Hood, Sirens Lure, Echos Fate, and Genetic Christmas, exposed additional instances of classified information reaching the media. For example, a mid-December 2016 NBC News article falsely claimed the intelligence community had concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally involved in election hacking—before any official assessment was complete.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently condemned these leaks, accusing Deep State officials of pushing false narratives to mislead the public. “Deep State officials in the IC begin leaking blatantly false intelligence to the Washington Post, as proven by the unpublished PDB and previous IC products, claiming that Russia used ‘cyber means’ to influence ‘the outcome of the election,’” her office stated last month.
The failure of these investigations to result in charges has only deepened distrust in institutions like the FBI and DOJ. For many Americans, the pattern is clear: the Deep State worked tirelessly to undermine Trump while shielding its own from accountability.
These revelations come as no surprise to those who’ve long suspected the legacy media’s role in promoting anti-Trump narratives. The cozy relationship between Comey, Richman, and outlets like The New York Times exposes how elites weaponized the press to push their agenda.
The lack of consequences for Comey and his allies go to show a two-tiered justice system—one for the connected and another for everyone else. While Trump faced relentless investigations, those who orchestrated the Russia hoax walked free, their reputations intact.
