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Secret Texts Point to MI5 Role at Start of FBI Trump Investigation, Says Report

Then-Deputy Andrew McCabe and a senior MI5 figure shared texts about our “strange situation,” reportedly referring to Russian interference.

Senior figures in the FBI and Britain’s MI5 texted each other in the summer of 2016 about “our strange situation” as the FBI was launching its investigation into whether Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was colluding with Russia, The Guardian reports. The texts between Andrew McCabe, then deputy FBI director, and his MI5 counterpart, Jeremy Fleming, indicate that British intelligence had a role in the early stages of the investigation. In one exchange in August 2016, Fleming said FBI and MI5 members “met on our strange situation,” reportedly referring to Russian activities both in the U.S. election and Britain’s Brexit referendum that summer. The Guardian’s sources said the Brexit vote was viewed by FBI figures as evidence that Russian interference activities could be successful. U.S. and U.K. intelligence agencies typically share information, but the texts show an apparent need for a direct line of communication on the Russia problem.