Kellyanne Conway discussed the enduring impact of the Russiagate investigation on American politics Thursday on Fox Business.
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard released declassified evidence on Friday showing that former President Barack Obama and his national security team “manufactured and politicized intelligence” after President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, following the failed collusion investigation. During an appearance on “Kudlow,” Conway explained why the country couldn’t just move on from Russiagate.
“It affects politics hugely because if people say, ‘Well, move on, that was eight years ago. We can’t,’” Conway said. “We spent $40 million of taxpayer money on the Mueller investigation. The major networks and the other two cable stations, Larry, spent 2,000 minutes in coverage. That approximates two whole days out of a human being’s life.”
Conway detailed the scope of the media’s obsession with Russia collusion, saying entire divisions were dedicated to the theory that Russian interference helped President Trump win in 2016.
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“So they had entire divisions devoted to Russia collusion. I think what people need to look at are two things. One is the timeline, and two is the players. What’s the timeline? Long before there was destroy and imprison Trump and get Trump, there was stop Trump,” Conway said. (RELATED: Matt Taibbi Breaks Down What ‘Discarded, Rejected Pieces Of Non-Information’ Fueled Steele Dossier)
Conway said that members of the political and intelligence establishment never anticipated Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton and immediately began to sabotage his administration. The real story, she argued, is what took place behind the scenes: in the Oval Office, at the CIA, at the FBI, and within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
“And they didn’t think Trump needed to be stopped until he actually won. They never expected Hillary Clinton to lose and him to win,” Conway said. “They went into overdrive almost immediately. But where they can do it, where no one’s looking is behind the scenes in the Oval, at the CIA, at the FBI, at ODNI. And I put in my book three years ago, Tom, Joanna, your friend and I, in the West Wing, we unspooled this whole thing because a lot of this was declassified in 2019.”
Conway gave credit where it was due, saying that former CIA Director John Brennan had pushed back against certain agents within the agency who were determined to peddle the Russia collusion narrative.
“We concluded the following. Clapper’s in big trouble. He absolutely lied under oath. I defy him to say otherwise. Brennan’s in trouble. Comey’s in trouble. Brennan, to his credit, did push back on some of the CIA agents, five of them, saying this was Russia collusion and Putin wanted Trump to win,” Conway said. “What Tulsi Gabbard, what Director Gabbard, has unspooled so far is that there were four or five sources that were relied upon. The Steele dossier was the most credible one. Imagine that. Steele dossier.”
Former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele authored the Steele dossier, which CNN, MSNBC, and other mainstream outlets repeatedly referenced to back the unfounded theory that Russian interference led to Clinton’s loss in the 2016 election. On May 15, 2023, Special Counsel John Durham released a report saying that the FBI “did not and could not corroborate” the dossier’s allegations.
The dossier played a crucial role in securing warrants to surveil Trump associates like Carter Page, but it has since been debunked. In an Oct. 2022 trial, FBI analyst Brian Auten testified that the FBI offered Steele $1 million to verify the dossier’s claims, but Steele failed to provide any proof.
In 2022, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee were fined by the Federal Election Commission for their involvement in promoting the discredited dossier, which was central to the collusion narrative. Senior intelligence officials also disputed key claims made by then-CIA Director Brennan regarding Russia’s intentions in the 2016 election, particularly the claim that Russia sought to aid Trump’s campaign.
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