Investigation details and unknown aspects concerning the Justice Department's examination of the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation
In a significant development, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a grand jury investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, focusing on allegations that Obama-era officials may have politicized or manufactured intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The move comes after a criminal referral from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in mid-July 2025, which claimed that some intelligence showing Russia and criminal actors did not impact the election had been suppressed.
The grand jury proceedings are underway to examine the intelligence origin and handling, though it remains unclear who might be charged or what specific crimes are being investigated. The investigation is scrutinizing whether intelligence community assessments and the Obama administration’s handling of Russia-related intelligence were politicized or mishandled, reopening a politically charged chapter of recent U.S. history.
No specific targets have been publicly identified, but the inquiry appears focused on Obama administration officials and intelligence community members connected to the initial Russia investigation.
This investigation is part of ongoing efforts within the Trump administration and allies to challenge the original findings of Russian interference and alleged connections to the Trump campaign.
The investigation will focus on the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation during the Obama era. It's not clear who might be targeted in the investigation.
In the past, the Trump administration has been engaged in an effort to reopen the long-accepted conclusion of Russian interference and to scrutinize the officials involved in reaching that assessment. Robert Mueller, former FBI director, was tapped as special counsel to investigate the matter during Trump's first term. However, Mueller found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in favor of Trump and that the Trump campaign welcomed the aid, but did not find sufficient evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The documents do not provide incontrovertible proof of a conspiracy, as claimed by Trump and his supporters. It is unclear if there is any criminal misconduct that exists that Durham, who launched his investigation in 2019 and concluded it four years later, somehow missed during his sprawling inquiry.
Bondi, a Trump loyalist, has directed Justice Department prosecutors to investigate the Russia inquiry and has authorized the use of a grand jury. The Justice Department has not disclosed which prosecutors are pursuing the investigation, where the grand jury that might hear evidence is located, or when law enforcement officials might seek to bring criminal charges.
Last week, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a previously classified annex of a 2023 report by John Durham, the special counsel appointed by the first Trump administration to hunt for government misconduct in the Trump-Russia investigation. Among the documents is an email from July 2016 that was purportedly sent by a senior staffer at a philanthropic organization founded by billionaire investor George Soros, referring to a plan approved by Hillary Clinton to link Trump to Russia.
The documents include emails showing that Obama administration officials recognized in 2016 that Russians had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in favor of Trump. Multiple government reports, including not only from Mueller but also a Republican-led Senate intelligence committee, have documented Russia's activities in painstaking detail.
Durham's own report notes that investigators had not corroborated the communications as authentic and that the alleged author had no recollection of drafting the email. The Durham team's best assessment is that the message was "a composites of several emails" the Russians had obtained from hacking, raising the likelihood that it was a product of Russian disinformation.
The investigation follows a series of documents aimed at casting doubt on the extent of Russian election interference released by Tulsi Gabbard, the administration's director of national intelligence. President Donald Trump has expressed a desire to use the Justice Department as a weapon of retribution against perceived political adversaries.
[1] Florida Attorney General Orders Grand Jury Investigation into Trump-Russia Probe Origins [2] Trump Administration Challenges Findings of Russian Interference and Connections to Campaign [3] Durham Investigation Finds No Criminal Wrongdoing among Senior Officials [4] DNI Gabbard's Criminal Referral Claims Intelligence on Russia and 2016 Election Impacts was Suppressed
- The Florida Attorney General has ordered a grand jury investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, focusing on allegations of politicized or manufactured intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
- The investigation is part of ongoing efforts within the Trump administration and allies to challenge the original findings of Russian interference and to scrutinize the officials involved in reaching that assessment.
- DNI Tulsi Gabbard's criminal referral claims that some intelligence showing Russia and criminal actors did not impact the election had been suppressed.
- The investigation follows a series of documents aimed at casting doubt on the extent of Russian election interference released by Tulsi Gabbard, the administration's director of national intelligence.
