Biden sought 'hidden info' on Trump's incoming NSA: Ex-spy chief

Trump's first national security advisor Michael Flynn was the highest ranking official snared by the special counsel inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Flynn was forced to resign early in the Trump presidency for lying to Vice-President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian government officials.

During his address to the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Wednesday, former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell broadly condemned the Obama administration's inquiry into possible Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 election. "As Acting Director of National Intelligence, I saw the Democrats' entire case for Russian collusion. And what I saw made me sick to my stomach," he said.

The former spy chief alleged that the Obama-Biden administration secretly launched a surveillance operation on the Trump campaign, and silenced the many brave intelligence officials who spoke up against it. "They presented bogus information as facts. They lied to judges. Then they classified anything that undermined their case," he alleged. "After Donald Trump won the election, when they should have continued the American tradition of helping the president-elect transition into the White House, they tried instead to undercut him even more. "Former Vice President Joe Biden asked intelligence officials to uncover the hidden information on President Trump's incoming National Security Advisor (Flynn) three weeks before the (presidential) Inauguration," Grenell alleged.

In his RNC speech, Grenell also praised Trump's 'America First foreign policy'. In four years, Trump has led even some Washington Democrats to agree on the Chinese threat. On trade deals that benefit Americans first. On alliances that share responsibility, he said. "In four years, Donald Trump didn't start any new wars. He brought troops home. He rebuilt the military, and signed peace deals that make Americans safer. The Washington elites want you to think this kind of foreign policy is immoral. And so they call it 'nationalist'. That tells you all you need to know. The DC crowd thinks when they call Donald Trump a nationalist, they're insulting him. "As if the American president isn't supposed to base foreign policy on America's national interests! A return to the Biden way of thinking means America gives the radical terrorist regime in Tehran a plane load of cash in the middle of the night," Grenell said. He said one must be clear that when those who seek freedom take tremendous personal risks in places like Hong Kong, Tehran, or Minsk, there is no doubt who President Trump's administration supports. "We will always stand with the people who fight for their God-given freedoms." Trump rightly calls his foreign policy "America First", he said. America First does not advance the interests of one group of Americans at the expense of any other. It has no bias about red or blue, educated or not educated, urban or rural. America First is simply the belief that politicians should focus on the equality and dignity of every American, he said.

"And that this duty is fulfilled by promoting the safety and wealth of the American people above all else. That's America First. That's the Trump Doctrine," Grenell said.