Reference Center

FBI surveilled Rep. Scott Perry before seizing his cell phone as part of the Arctic Frost probe into the 2020 election.

Acquitted pro-life activist reveals details of the FBI raid on his home and wins a seven-figure settlement from the government.

Judge questions federal tactics used in the arrest of the former White House trade adviser.

FBI SWAT raid at dawn — although none of the seven charges against Stone was a violent crime, approximately two dozen FBI agents in tactical gear swept across Stone's lawn wielding M4 rifles to arrest an elderly man.

FBI was authorized to use deadly force during the classified-documents search; internal emails reveal doubts over probable cause.

House Judiciary Committee report on how the Biden–Wray FBI manufactured a false narrative of Catholic Americans as violent extremists.

Documents on the FBI's response to the National School Boards Association letter and the treatment of parents at school-board meetings as domestic-threat concerns.

FBI/Facebook coordination and testimony on election-related content moderation, including 'Zuckerberg Bucks' funding and Special Agent Elvis Chan's role.

Documented FBI cases of illegal leaks and the DOJ IG report on Comey's disclosure of sensitive information.

Comey misled the Gang of Eight about Russiagate.

Clinton staff destroyed subpoenaed emails and devices. The FBI gave the Clinton team an effective pass despite clear evidence destruction after a Congressional subpoena had been issued.

More than 50 former intelligence officials signed an open letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story as bearing the 'classic earmarks' of Russian disinformation — a claim later undercut when several signatories were revealed to be active CIA contractors.

House Intelligence Committee oversight and investigations related to the topics documented in this Reference Center.

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and former member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and former member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Impeachment proceedings and related congressional investigations.

The Jan 6 Committee's partisan composition, record destruction, and Grassley's demand to preserve evidence.

How federal law enforcement commandeered financial institutions to spy on Americans, alongside the broader financial-surveillance record.

Arctic Frost surveillance of Republican officials, including Rep. Scott Perry and 400+ Republican targets.

Obama State Department's last-minute efforts to undermine the incoming Trump administration.

Declassified findings say the CIA's own referral memo and Hillary Clinton 'approval' notes point to the origin of the Russia-collusion narrative reaching back into the agency itself, well before the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane probe began.

Congressional review of the agency's role in shaping the 2017 Russia narrative, alongside separate scrutiny of ex-Director John Brennan's public statements defending the intelligence community's conclusions.

The 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian election interference is disputed as a rushed, politically shaped product rather than standard tradecraft.

More than 50 former intelligence officials signed an open letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story as bearing the 'classic earmarks' of Russian disinformation — a claim later undercut when several signatories were revealed to be active CIA contractors at the time.

The IRS's targeting of Tea Party and conservative tax-exempt applicants, documented in the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration audit.

Financial surveillance and the commandeering of financial institutions to monitor Americans.

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley's testimony detailing the handling of the Hunter Biden tax investigation.

What did Obama know and when did he know it — the weaponization of intelligence agencies against the Trump campaign.

The intelligence community's handling of the Foreign Denial and Deception Committee findings.

Evidence that Obama knew about and communicated with Hillary Clinton's private email server.

The 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment and the Obama-era intelligence review of Russian election interference.

Reporting and DOJ records on the Biden family influence-peddling allegations and the handling of the bribery scheme claims.

Records tied to the Hunter Biden investigation and the flow of foreign funds through associated entities.

The Burisma conflict-of-interest allegations connected to the Hunter Biden probe.

Reporting on Biden-era border and immigration enforcement.

Task Force reporting on anti-Christian bias in Biden administration enforcement actions, including those touching faith-based schools.

The FBI and administration pressure campaign directed at social-media platforms over the Hunter laptop and other content.

Hillary Clinton and the DNC funded the opposition research behind the Russia-collusion narrative.

More than 50 former intelligence officials signed an open letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story as bearing the 'classic earmarks' of Russian disinformation — a claim later undercut when several signatories were revealed to be active CIA contractors.

Coverage of the allegations against Bill Clinton spanning the Lewinsky affair and multiple accusers.

The media played a significant role in this conspiratorial plan by promoting the "Big Lie" of Trump-Russian collusion.

A full 3 months before the 2016 election a New York Times Editorial by Jim Rutenberg laid out the marching orders for the press and the media at large. He wrote "If you view a Trump presidency as something that's potentially dangerous, then your reporting is going to reflect that. You would move closer than you've ever been to being oppositional.". That is to say, shelve your journalistic objectivity and become the opposition. Be part of the "Resistance".

That set the tone and direction of much of the media coverage that happened in the 2016 Presidential election and continues to this day against Conservatives in general.

The media's cover-up and complicit coverage of the Trump-Russia narrative.

More than 50 former intelligence officials signed a letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation — a claim later undercut when signatories were revealed to be active CIA contractors.

Looking back on the coverage of Trump

Seven and a half years ago, journalism began a tortured dance with Donald Trump, the man who would be the country's forty-fifth president—first dismissing him, then embracing him as a source of ratings and clicks, then going all in on efforts to catalogue Trump as a threat to the country (also a great source of ratings and clicks).

No narrative did more to shape Trump's relations with the press than Russiagate. The story, which included the Steele dossier and the Mueller report among other totemic moments, resulted in Pulitzer Prizes as well as embarrassing retractions and damaged careers. For Trump, the press's pursuit of the Russia story convinced him that any sort of normal relationship with the press was impossible.

For the past year and a half, CJR has been examining the American media's coverage of Trump and Russia in granular detail, and what it means as the country enters a new political cycle. Investigative reporter Jeff Gerth interviewed dozens of people at the center of the story— editors and reporters, Trump himself, and others in his orbit.

The result is an encyclopedic look at one of the most consequential moments in American media history. Gerth's findings aren't always flattering, either for the press or for Trump and his team. Doubtless they'll be debated and maybe even used as ammunition in the ongoing media war being waged in the country. But they are important, and worthy of deep reflection as the campaign for the presidency is about, once again, to begin.

By Kyle Pope, CJR
January 30, 2023