Context:

Obama-era intelligence officials admitted to having no empirical evidence of collusion between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, despite publicly promoting the narrative of such collusion. The House Intelligence Committee's 2017 depositions of key Obama officials, including James Clapper and Susan Rice, aligned with Special Counsel Mueller's findings, which also found no criminal coordination between Trump and Russia. The narrative gained renewed attention as former CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey faced criminal investigations for potential misconduct, such as making false statements to Congress. These inquiries stem from their roles in the Trump-Russia probe, including the controversial use of the unverified Steele dossier, which was funded by Clinton's campaign. Despite internal objections, the dossier was included in intelligence assessments, raising questions about its impact on the investigation's credibility.

Dive Deeper:

• In 2017, the House Intelligence Committee conducted interviews with top Obama intelligence officials, who acknowledged they had no direct evidence of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia, echoing Robert Mueller's investigation results.

• James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence, testified that he never saw any empirical evidence of collusion, while Loretta Lynch, the former Attorney General, stated she was not briefed on such evidence.

• The narrative of Trump-Russia collusion persisted despite the lack of evidence, partly fueled by intelligence from Clinton's campaign advisor that sought to create a scandal linking Trump to Russian interference.

• The Steele dossier, funded by the Clinton campaign, contained unverified allegations against Trump and played a role in obtaining FISA warrants against Trump campaign aide Carter Page, despite lacking specific corroboration.

• Former CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potentially making false statements to Congress and other misconduct related to the Trump-Russia probe.

• Brennan and Comey included the Steele dossier in intelligence assessments despite warnings about its credibility, leading to concerns over their preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness.

• The investigations into Brennan and Comey, described by some FBI sources as a 'conspiracy,' are exploring a broad range of potential prosecutorial actions, though the full scope remains unclear.