Trump Told Advisers He Needed to Save ‘Russiagate’ Docs so Biden Wouldn’t ‘Shred’ Them: Report
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Former President Donald Trump reportedly told those close to him he intended to preserve documents related to the Russian collusion investigation, as he feared his White House successor would destroy them.
The investigation dated back to 2016 and centered on allegations people in Trump’s orbit worked with Russians to help him win the election.
According to Rolling Stone, Trump worried the investigation would return to haunt him, and documents about it would not be preserved by then-President-elect Joe Biden in January of 2020.
Adam Rawnsley and Aswain Suebsaeng, writing for the outlet, reported:
IN HIS FINAL days in the White House, Donald Trump told top advisers he needed to preserve certain Russia-related documents to keep his enemies from destroying them.
The documents related to the federal investigation into Russian election meddling and alleged collusion with Trump’s campaign. At the end of his presidency, Trump and his team pushed to declassify these so-called “Russiagate” documents, believing they would expose a “Deep State” plot against him.
The report goes on to claim people with direct knowledge of Trump’s mindset at the time say he viewed Biden and the “deep state” as the same.
He also feared Biden or his allies would “shred” evidence that supposedly exonerated him from claims he or his allies worked with Russian operatives to during his race against Hillary Clinton.
Trump did state during an interview a week ago that he believed agents who entered his home thought they would find materials related to what he called the “Russia, Russia Russia hoax.”
The Rolling Stone report adds former Pentagon chief of staff Kash Patel has claimed Trump “asked him to help retrieve and publish so-called ‘Russiagate’ material the White House counsel’s office had sent to the National Archives in the last days of the administration.”
Read the report in its entirety here.
