Declassified Documents Reveal Ukraine Impeachment as Direct Continuation of Failed Russia Collusion Hoax

WASHINGTON — Newly declassified memos and transcripts released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard show the 2019 Ukraine impeachment effort against President Trump was explicitly a continuation of the collapsed Russia collusion narrative that special counsel Robert Mueller failed to substantiate, according to reporting by Just The News.

The documents, declassified at Just The News’ request and made public this week, were written by investigators for then-Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson during his handling of the anonymous whistleblower complaint that triggered the first impeachment. They expose hidden biases, hearsay evidence, and direct ties between the Ukraine whistleblower’s team and the discredited 2016-2017 Russia probe.

Timeline of the Russia-to-Ukraine Hoax Continuity

• 2016-2017: The FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation and the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) claimed Russian interference favored Trump. The ICA, directed by Obama officials including John Brennan, James Clapper, and James Comey, relied on faulty intelligence and the Steele dossier. A key co-author later became central to the Ukraine saga.
• 2017-2019: Mueller’s $45 million probe produced no evidence of criminal collusion or conspiracy between Trump and Russia. His July 24, 2019, congressional testimony delivered no new bombshells, leaving Democrats without a path forward.
• July 25, 2019: The day after Mueller testified, Trump spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The call focused on corruption and Biden family dealings in Ukraine.
• August 2019: CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella filed a whistleblower complaint alleging Trump pressured Ukraine for political gain. Atkinson’s office conducted a preliminary review but deviated from standard procedures, interviewing only four people: Ciaramella, a friend dubbed “Witness 2,” and two character references with no firsthand knowledge of the call.
• Key Declassified Revelations: Memos flagged Ciaramella for “potential for bias” due to his Democratic registration, prior work with Joe Biden on Ukraine policy (including travel with Biden and discussions of Ukrainian corruption), and criticism of Trump officials. Ciaramella admitted misleading investigators about prior contacts with House Intelligence Committee Democrats and asked to hide his complaint from Republicans. These details were concealed from Congress in 2019.
• Russia Hoax Link Exposed: “Witness 2,” who assisted Ciaramella and reviewed the Trump-Zelensky transcript, was a National Security Agency official who co-authored the 2017 Russia ICA and had worked closely with fired FBI agent Peter Strzok. The memo noted that discrediting Witness 2 could highlight the ICA’s anti-Trump tilt. Witness 2 cited a “moral and patriotic duty” to help but admitted he lacked Ciaramella’s granular Ukraine insight and would not have acted independently.

Atkinson, an Obama holdover and former counselor to Russiagate figure Mary McCord (who reviewed flawed FISA warrants on Carter Page), kept the bias evidence from House investigators. House Democrats, in closed-door sessions, openly sought a “Russia angle” to tie the complaint to ongoing probes into Trump.

The complaint led to House Democrats’ December 2019 impeachment articles on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump was acquitted by the Senate in February 2020.

Gabbard’s office stated the documents prove “a coordinated effort by elements within the Intelligence Community” to manufacture a conspiracy after Mueller’s failure. The ODNI has referred Ciaramella and Atkinson for potential criminal review by the Justice Department.

For American taxpayers who funded years of investigations and two impeachments based on what declassified evidence now shows were politically driven narratives, the release confirms a pattern of weaponized intelligence to target a duly elected president.