Ratcliffe's allegations against Hillary Clinton contain unverified Russian intel that have reportedly been previously rejected
Responding to Ratcliffee’s allegations Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he would review the information, noting that Ratcliffe would make it available in a classified setting. But Ratcliffe added that American intelligence agencies do “not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication.” Moreover, even though the report was made public, Ratcliffe admitted that the Russian intel is unverified.
New York Times reported that according to three current and former officials familiar with those inquiries — including Mueller, and the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee — had earlier evaluated and rejected this information.
As per the U.S investigating agencies, the Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with intent to boost the candidacy of Donald Trump and in order to increase social discord in the country. As per the evidence gathered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the goal of the same was ‘to damage the Clinton campaign, boost Trump’s chances and sow distrust in American democracy overall’.
A Department of Justice report on ‘The Investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential Election did not conclude the President committed a crime, but it did not explicitly exonerate him either.
On the other hand, FBI on September 2, 2016 published documents relating to the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email while serving as Secretary of State. The 58 pages of notes included the Democratic presidential nominee's interview and details about her private server at her New York residence. In July, the FBI ended a year-long inquiry into whether she broke the law by using a private server. FBI Director James Comey did not recommend criminal charges. However, Comey concluded that though Clinton and her staff had been "extremely careless" with classified information, there was no evidence that she knowingly shared sensitive material.
In conclusion, the claim that Trump was linked to the Russian controversy by Hillary Clinton as a bid to distract voters from her alleged email scandal is misleading as the matter is being investigated by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the intel remains unsubstantiated.
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