Newly released FBI documents reveal an extensive network of classified information leaks involving government officials and prominent journalists during the Trump-Russia investigation. The documents expose how reporters from major news outlets obtained sensitive information through connections to former FBI Director James Comey and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff’s circle.
The declassified records show that multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning stories published in 2017 by the Washington Post’s Ellen Nakashima and the New York Times’ Michael Schmidt were based on misleading classified leaks designed to damage President Trump. These leaks were part of what an FBI informant described as a coordinated effort to trigger Trump’s impeachment.
According to FBI interview reports, Schiff assembled a “Russia team” within the House Intelligence Committee in February 2017 to access and distribute classified material. Key team members reportedly included staffers Rheanne Wirkkala and Timothy Bergreen, with Michael Bahar and Patrick Boland allegedly orchestrating the media campaign.
The FBI informant, identified by sources as Robert Minehart, documented a February 13, 2017 meeting where Schiff allegedly authorized leaking classified information to undermine Trump. Minehart, a former NSA engineer who worked as a Democratic policy advisor on the intelligence committee, later reported concerns about “rampant leaking” to security officials.
The documents reveal that some leaks were channeled through
intermediaries, including the spouse of a Schiff staffer.
Specifically, Rheanne Wirkkala allegedly passed information to her husband Ian Duncan, who then shared it with other reporters including Nakashima.
Similarly, the records show close ties between Times reporter Michael Schmidt and Columbia professor Daniel Richman, a Comey confidant who served as a conduit for classified information. Schmidt, who is married to MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, had numerous meetings with Richman during this period.
Despite launching seven separate leak investigations examining dozens of congressional staffers, journalists, and Obama officials, the FBI’s probes resulted in no prosecutions for mishandling classified information. Critics argue the investigations, conducted under Andrew McCabe’s leadership, were deliberately ineffective, with investigators failing to obtain crucial phone and email records.
The documents also show that FBI agents’ efforts were constrained by novel legal interpretations claiming congressional immunity from prosecution under the Constitution’s speech and debate clause. This apparently limited their ability to investigate key suspects like former Schiff aide Michael Bahar.
Current FBI Director Kash Patel is reportedly considering reopening these investigations, as the statute of limitations for classified disclosure violations extends ten years. Digital records from the original probes remain preserved in FBI systems.
Major media outlets have largely ignored recent declassifications exposing how intelligence was potentially manipulated against Trump. Former Pulitzer winners like Susan Schmidt and Jeff Gerth have criticized their colleagues’ reluctance to cover revelations that challenge previous reporting narratives.
The episode reveals what critics call “media collusion” – extensive coordination between journalists and government officials who shared an anti-Trump agenda. Even as declassified documents expose these relationships, many reporters continue to defend their coverage while avoiding scrutiny of their sources who provided misleading classified information.