Transcripts show FBI debated over Trump-as-Russian-mole...

Why has Donald Trump devoted so many tweets to demeaning and diminishing former [HASH]FBI attorney Lisa Page and attacking her relationship with former Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok? CNN revealed the reason behind Trump’s tweets on Monday morning with excerpts from [HASH]CongressionalTestimony by Page and former FBI general counsel James Baker. Those transcripts show that the question of investigating Trump as a [HASH]RussianAsset had been debated inside the FBI for months, until his actions following the dismissal of FBI direct James Comey finally tipped the balance of that debate, driving even the most reluctant to finally acknowledge what had seemed unthinkable. And they bring a different light to some testimony that had already been available to the public.

On Friday, the New York Times reported that the [HASH]Investigation of connections between Donald Trump and [HASH]Russia was not just about whether Trump’s campaign had conspired with the [HASH]RussianGovernment in the [HASH]2016Election. It wasn’t just about whether Trump had used his position to obstruct justice by hampering that investigation. As the Times reported then, and the Washington Post amplified on Saturday, the FBI launched an investigation into whether or not Trump was himself an [HASH]Operative for the [HASH]RussianGovernment working against the interests of the [HASH]UnitedStates.

Now [HASH]CNN has obtained transcripts of the two FBI officials speaking to [HASH]Congress in closed door hearings. These transcripts show that the FBI strongly resisted those who urged them to investigate Trump during the campaign.