Former officials call for probe into CIA memo on China cited by Trump

Key Findings

Former intelligence officials have identified a recently declassified memo in Donald Trump's 2020 election-related document release as warranting further investigation.

The Steady State—a group of former national security and intelligence officials—has called for an independent probe into a three-page CIA note on China titled "Sensitive PRC Reporting from 2018-2020." The document's date and author are redacted, and its origin within the CIA remains unclear.

An analysis by the group found that the memo "departs in both style and format" from standard CIA drafting culture and lacks the typical indicators of a CIA review.

Trump's Use of the Document

Despite its questionable provenance, Trump directly quoted the file during his national prime-time address on July 16:

"In mid-2018 the Chinese Communist Party's policy was to leverage all domestic and foreign elements that were opposed to the U.S. president in an effort to reduce the U.S. president's votes and make him resign or prevent his re-election," Trump read from the document. "Isn't that nice?"

During his 25-minute speech, Trump repeated thoroughly debunked claims about interference in the 2020 presidential election and alleged that the intelligence community had intentionally withheld information from him during his first term regarding China's attempts to undermine U.S. election integrity.

Trump used the CIA memo to urge the Justice Department to "fire those involved in the cover-up" and "file criminal charges if appropriate."

Concerns from Intelligence Officials

Former intelligence officials have expressed wariness about the document's narrow perspective and thin context, suggesting it may have been a response to a targeted request from someone within the administration, MS NOW reported Tuesday.

Steven Cash, executive director of The Steady State and a former CIA and Department of Homeland Security official, told the digital news organization that he planned to send a letter Tuesday to top lawmakers regarding the note's "anomalies."

"It is particularly dangerous when intelligence products are presented piecemeal to the American people," Cash wrote. "Confidence in the Intelligence Community is predicated not only on what it ultimately knows, but on the integrity of how its work is produced and presented."

Read more: Intel Docs Declassified by Trump Expose All His Election Fraud Claims

Fauci's Diary Reveals Shift in Views on Trump

Dr. Anthony Fauci initially had a good relationship with President Trump but eventually came to view him as an "obnoxious adolescent," according to excerpts of his diary released by Republican Senator Rand Paul, chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Diary Details

The released diary entries span from December 2019—just before the Covid-19 outbreak—through December 2022, when Fauci left his position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Paul released over 1,000 pages from the diary as part of an investigation into the origins of Covid-19, which Paul claims came from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China.

While the diary contains no "smoking gun" on Covid's origins, it offers an inside view of key moments during the pandemic and illustrates how Trump mishandled the crisis.

Early Impressions

Fauci wrote glowingly about meeting Trump on January 29, 2020, in the White House Situation Room. The president told him:

"Anthony, you are really a famous guy. My good friend Lou Dobbs told me that you were one of the smartest, knowledgeable and outstanding persons he knows."

"He then stayed for 20 minutes and asked most of his questions of me. I was surprised and very pleased and the deputies were clearly stunned and impressed," Fauci wrote. He added that Trump thanked him after the meeting, telling him, "We are counting on you."

Changing Views

Fauci's entries show how Trump's actions during the pandemic quickly altered his perception. After a March 2020 press conference, Fauci complained that Trump "wasted the opportunity to just focus on the relief package and went into his diatribe against previous administrations."

Later, in August, Fauci wrote that he had difficulty explaining to Trump that increased testing did not increase Covid cases.

"All in all it was a manifestation that he..."