Alexander Downer's role in sparking FBI's Trump investigation revealed | KnottMatthew
Previously secret details about Australia's role in triggering the 2016 FBI investigation into ties between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia have been revealed in a landmark report from the US Department of Justice.
The report includes an excerpt from a cable written by Alexander Downer, then Australia's high commissioner to the United Kingdom, after he had drinks with a junior Trump campaign official, George Papadopoulos, in a London bar in May 2016.Papadopoulos allegedly told Downer that the Russians had obtained damaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Andrew McCabe, then the FBI's deputy director, told the inquiry that Downer's information was the "tipping point" that led the FBI to open its investigation.The Inspector General finds that the FBI had sufficient grounds to open a probe given the Australian government's "trustworthy" reputation and the fact Downer had provided first-hand information.
Horowitz writes: "We concluded that Priestap's exercise of discretion in opening the investigation was in compliance with Department and FBI policies, and we did not find documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced his decision."
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