Newly declassified Justice Department documents implicated left-wing donor George Soros in the FBI plot to spread Trump-Russia collusion allegations ahead of the 2016 election. Here’s what you need to know about the declassified Durham investigation documents:
The declassified revelations
DOJ documents expose Soros involvement in Trump-Russia allegations:
- Newly declassified Justice Department documents implicated George Soros in FBI plot
- Documents show plan to spread Trump-Russia collusion allegations ahead of 2016 election
- Emails hacked by Russians from Soros’ Open Society Foundation
- Employee Leonard Bernardo authored plans to spread collusion hoax
The publication strategy
Open Society Foundation planned media campaign:
- Plans laid out to spread collusion hoax to “leading U.S. publications”
- Strategy involved entities connected to the FBI
- Documents describe potential election influence by foreign government related to Hillary Clinton
- Emails implicate Clinton campaign in spreading false stories about Trump’s Russia ties
The Durham investigation annex
Revelations from now-declassified special counsel report:
- Information part of declassified annex to DOJ special counsel John Durham’s 2023 report
- Durham investigated origins of FBI probe into Trump-Russia conspiracy theory
- Theory alleged President Trump schemed with Moscow to rig 2016 election
- Annex declassified by top intelligence officials
The declassification process
Senate Republican chairman made documents public:
- Annex made public Thursday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley
- Iowa Republican requested declassification from intelligence officials
- Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel participated in declassification
- CIA Director John Ratcliffe and DNI Tulsi Gabbard also involved
The FISA court deception
Report details false statements to surveillance court:
- Documents detail false statements FBI made to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
- False statements involved FISA renewal applications for Carter Page
- Page was former foreign-policy adviser to Trump during 2016 campaign
- FBI misled court about surveillance warrant justifications
The FBI’s investigative failures
Bureau failed to probe Clinton campaign intelligence:
- Report outlines FBI’s failure under Director James Comey’s leadership
- Bureau failed to investigate intelligence that Clinton campaign may have created Russia hoax
- FBI used bogus dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele
- Steele dossier was paid for by Clinton campaign
Grassley’s transparency argument
Chairman emphasized public interest in disclosure:
- Grassley said “overriding public interest demands the release of this information”
- Release would “benefit public transparency and accountability”
- Declassification included information collected by CIA and National Security Agency
- Chairman requested declassification to expose government failures
The Obama administration intelligence
2016 memos described Democratic Party conversations:
- Obama administration in 2016 obtained intelligence recorded in January and March 2016 memos
- Two memos described “confidential conversations” between DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Conversations involved two Open Society Foundation individuals: Leonard Benardo and Jeffrey Goldstein
- Intelligence came from recorded conversations between Democratic officials
The Clinton email investigation
January memo outlined Obama’s interference plans:
- January memo said Obama aimed to shut down FBI investigation into Clinton’s private email server
- Investigation involved Clinton’s mishandling of highly classified information as Secretary of State
- Email service scandal was dogging Clinton in presidential race
- Obama sought to end investigation affecting Clinton’s campaign
The Trump-Russia operation
March memo detailed plan to link Trump to Russia:
- March memo referenced same Obama effort to scuttle Clinton investigation
- Also outlined plan to link Trump to Russia
- Democratic Party “opposition focused on discrediting Trump”
- Clinton staff preparing “scandalous revelations of business relations between Trump and ’Russian Mafia’”
The “special services” reference
FBI analysts speculated about intelligence community involvement:
- March memo stated Clinton staff had “support from special services”
- FBI analysts speculated “special services” may have referred to FBI and CIA
- Could refer more broadly to U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities
- Analysts also believed it could refer to Christopher Steele
Read more:
• New documents implicate George Soros, Hillary Clinton team in spreading Trump-Russia hoax
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
