A newly declassified appendix to Special Counsel John Durham’s 2023 report has sent shockwaves through Washington, revealing previously unseen emails and documents that suggest Hillary Clinton personally approved the plan to promote the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.
This revelation has added fuel to the ongoing debate about the origins of the investigation that consumed the U.S. political landscape for years and sparked endless controversy over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley released the declassified annex, which uncovers explosive details about Clinton’s campaign and its involvement in the early stages of the Trump-Russia investigation.
The report, which had been a topic of intense speculation, now supports long-standing claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies, who have long argued that the FBI mishandled its investigation into possible ties between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.
The declassified annex, part of Durham’s comprehensive investigation, contains a series of Russian intelligence memos that allegedly detail former President Barack Obama’s role in the unfolding scandal.
More importantly, it also includes internal emails between high-ranking members of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, revealing the extent to which the campaign was willing to go to leverage the Russian hacking narrative to damage her opponent, Donald Trump.
In the summer of 2016, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) confirmed that its servers had been breached, reportedly by Russian military intelligence.
As the media frenzy over the breach intensified, the Clinton campaign saw an opportunity to turn the narrative to their advantage, according to the emails uncovered in the declassified documents.
One of the emails, dated July 25, 2016, reportedly comes from Leonard Benardo, a member of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, in which he remarks on the significance of the hacking narrative.
“Politicization is on the table,” Benardo reportedly said, adding that Julianne Smith, Clinton’s foreign policy advisor, was developing a strategy to “demonize Putin and Trump.”
The emails go on to show that the Clinton campaign was strategizing to make the Russia narrative central to the election, even suggesting that the FBI would eventually “put more oil into the fire.”
A follow-up email sent two days later reveals that Clinton herself had approved an idea about “Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections.” The email also mentioned the possibility that this narrative could help distract voters from Clinton’s own email controversy.
In the aftermath of the declassification, Clinton and several members of her campaign publicly denied any involvement in crafting a plan to tie Trump to Russia. In a statement to investigators, Clinton referred to the newly declassified material as “Russian disinformation,” asserting that she had no knowledge of any such plan.
John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chair, similarly claimed that the information was entirely new to him and called the notion “ridiculous,” dismissing it as a baseless accusation.
Jake Sullivan, Clinton’s senior policy advisor and now President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, also denied any knowledge of such a strategy.
In a statement, Sullivan claimed that he had not seen the memo and rejected the idea that the campaign had orchestrated any plan to distract from Clinton’s email scandal by linking Trump to Russia.
“I could not recall anyone articulating a strategy or ‘plan’ to distract negative attention away from Clinton by tying Trump to Russia,” Sullivan purportedly said.
Despite the denials, the declassified annex reveals that the FBI and other intelligence agencies were aware of a concerted effort by Clinton’s campaign to tie Trump to Russia.
According to the annex, the CIA had sent the FBI an investigative referral memorandum, which mentioned the Clinton campaign’s plan, suggesting that they were actively involved in creating the narrative.
While the Clinton campaign dismissed the claims as outlandish, the annex indicates that Russian intelligence may have played a key role in shaping the narrative.
The emails in question appear to have been a composite of several emails that were obtained through Russian intelligence hacking, specifically targeting U.S. think tanks.
Although the authenticity of these emails has been questioned, the annex notes that certain analysts with expertise in sensitive intelligence collection assessed the emails as “likely authentic.”
The emails themselves are crucial to understanding how the narrative about Russian interference in the 2016 election took shape. Benardo’s emails, which had initially been dismissed as political fodder, now appear to corroborate key moments in the unfolding investigation.
For example, the strategy to “demonize Putin and Trump” was seemingly endorsed by top officials in Clinton’s campaign, highlighting a coordinated effort to shift focus onto Russia in the lead-up to the election.
Benardo himself has denied drafting the emails, stating that he could not recall writing them. However, he acknowledged that the last sentence of one email, which described deteriorating U.S.-Russia relations, did sound like something he might have said.
While this raises further questions about the authenticity of the emails, it does not diminish the centrality of their message to the unfolding controversy.
The most significant aspect of the declassified annex is the clear indication that the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference was influenced by political forces.
The emails uncovered by Durham’s investigation suggest that the Clinton campaign, knowing that it was facing scrutiny over its own conduct, attempted to shift attention to its political adversary by promoting the Russia narrative.
The FBI, in turn, appears to have been influenced by the narrative put forward by the Clinton campaign. The declassified material includes references to “putting more oil into the fire,” implying that the campaign may have expected or even sought FBI involvement in investigating the Russia connection, in an attempt to fuel the media frenzy and damage Trump’s candidacy.
This raises questions about the extent to which the FBI was politically motivated in launching its investigation. If the FBI was influenced by external political forces—whether intentionally or unintentionally—this could have profound implications for how future investigations are conducted, particularly when political campaigns are involved.
As the revelations from the declassified annex continue to reverberate through the political landscape, the fallout from this scandal remains far from over.
For Hillary Clinton and her campaign, the accusations that they orchestrated the Trump-Russia collusion narrative are damaging. If true, they could further erode the credibility of Clinton’s campaign, which was already marred by the email scandal and the controversy surrounding the handling of classified information.
For the FBI, the declassified material raises serious questions about the agency’s conduct during the investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia. If it is proven that the FBI was influenced by external political forces, it could undermine public trust in the agency and its ability to conduct impartial investigations.
For President Trump and his allies, this new information serves as a vindication of their long-held claims that the Russia investigation was a politically motivated attack aimed at undermining Trump’s legitimacy.
Whether this new evidence will lead to any legal consequences for Clinton, her campaign, or the FBI remains to be seen, but the political ramifications are likely to linger for years.
In conclusion, the declassified annex provides a glimpse into the political machinations behind one of the most divisive and controversial investigations in modern American history.
As the investigation continues to unfold, it will undoubtedly add fuel to the ongoing debates about political interference, FBI misconduct, and the role of the media in shaping public opinion.
The full extent of Clinton’s involvement in the Trump-Russia collusion narrative is yet to be determined, but this new revelation is sure to keep the story alive for the foreseeable future.
