The FBI had intelligence on the coordinated effort between the Obama administration and the Clinton campaign to stir up a false Russia collusion narrative to “smear” Donald Trump in 2016, but took no action on it, according to newly declassified records from Special Counsel John Durham’s Report.
The special counsel’s damning “Report on Matters Related to Intelligence Activities and Investigations Arising Out of the 2016 Presidential Campaigns” was published in May, 2023, but an appendix of the report remained classified until Thursday, July 31, 2025.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sent the declassified Appendix of the Durham Report to the Senate Judiciary Committee in coordination with the CIA, and Senate Judiciary Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released the stunning records today, nine years after disgraced FBI Director James Comey launched the now discredited Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
The records show that in the spring of 2016, the FBI had in its possession hacked emails alleging coordination between top DNC leadership, the Clinton Campaign, the Obama administration, and the Open Society Foundations to damage then-candidate Donald Trump.
Between 2014 and 2016, Russia hacked several U.S. private and public entities, including the Open Society Foundations, formerly known as the Soros Foundation.
The Russians obtained emails from Leonard Bernardo, Regional Director for the Eurasia Open Society Foundations, that included confidential conversations between Bernardo, then-DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Jeffrey Goldstein, another Open Society Foundations official.
In a January 12, 2016 email, the three discussed the Clinton email scandal that was then roiling the party.
Schultz allegedly assured her correspondents that the FBI did not have “persuasive evidence” against Clinton due to the “timely deletion of relevant data from email servers.”
According to the memo, the political director of Clinton’s campaign staff, Amanda Renteria, was receiving regular updates from then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch on the “plans and intentions” of the FBI.
The Russian memo goes on to allege that then-President Obama had no intention of allowing the final part of his presidency and legacy be “darkened” by a scandal surrounding the party’s main presidential contender, and thus was leaning on AG Lynch, to “put pressure on FBI Director James Comey.”
The Russians stated that they believed Comey “gravitates toward Republicans” so he was prolonging the email investigation to “jeopardize” Clinton’s chances.
Schultz, according to the memo, stated in an email that Obama had “sanctioned the use of all administrative levers to remove possible negative effects” from the FBI investigations into the Clinton Foundation, and Clinton’s private email server.
The DNC, according to the Russians, regarded the FBI’s email investigation as a “minimal” threat, and expected a “certain Clinton victory” in the 2016 presidential election.
The memo, which, again, the FBI had in its possession in March of 2016, stated that the Democrat party had a “two-pronged” strategy to defeat Trump, namely through “propaganda activities” and by highlighting his “weak points,” such as his “uncontrollable temperament.”
“Among other things, the Clinton staff, with support from special services, is preparing scandalous revelations of business activities between Trump and the ‘Russian mafia,'” the memo states.
The Durham Addendum notes that the term “special services,” according to Russian linguists, referred to the FBI and CIA. That is, the Russians believed the Clinton Campaign was coordinating with the FBI and CIA to find dirt on then-candidate Trump.
Another analyst speculated that the term referred to Christopher Steele, the former British Intel officer who authored the discredited anti-Trump dossier.
On March 31, 2016, FBI personnel, including then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Deputy General Counsel Anderson, Assistant Director of the Cyber Division James Trainor, and the Director’s Chief of Staff James Rybicki, shared the information with Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis, the highest ranking career official at the Department of Justice.
The FBI officials briefed Margolis on the “sensitive intelligence,” telling him that they assessed it to be likely “not credible” because it is based on “multiple levels of hearsay,” exaggerations, and possible mistranslations.
Durham’s intelligence analysts however concluded that the Bernardo emails were “likely authentic.”
The Durham Addendum goes on to note that the FBI had briefly considered an investigation into AG Lynch’s contacts with Clinton Campaign staffer Amanda Renteria, but decided against it because the information was “not credible on its face.”
In late July 2016, the FBI received additional information regarding hacked emails allegedly sent by Leonard Bernardo.
This memo stated that Clinton had approved a plan proposed by Julianne Smith, one of her foreign policy advisors, “to smear Donald Trump by magnifying the scandal tied to the intrusion by the Russian Special Services in the pre-election process to benefit the Republican candidate.” The smear campaign was also designed to “divert the constituents’ attention” from the FBI investigations into Clinton’s compromised private email server, and the Clinton Foundation.
The Russians noted in their memo that Clinton’s allies in the FBI had not yet been able to find “conclusive, irrefutable evidence” in the Russian Federation’s involvement the DNC hack.
The Russian memo states that “in the absence of direct evidence” proving a DNC/DCCC hack and leak operation, FBI-affiliated cyber security companies like Crowdstrike and ThreatConnect would be recruited to feed info to the FBI that would then “be disseminated through leading US publications.”
A Bernardo email dated July, 25, 2016 discussing Hillary Clinton’s plan to use the DNC hacking as a way to “demonize Putin and Trump.” The Soros operative predicted “the FBI will put more oil into the fire.”
In a post on X Thursday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) stated that the Durham’s appendix “shows Comey & Co had intel indicating Clinton’s campaign was behind fake Trump Russia narrative.”
Grassley noted that the “FBI didn’t fully review the info & investigated Trump ANYWAY using phony Steele Dossier.”
Attorney General Pamela Bondi, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and FBI Director Kash Patel released the following statements regarding the Durham documents:
“CIA and the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi are taking a bold step forward in declassifying the underlying intelligence in the Durham appendix showing the false Trump-Russia collusion narrative for what it was – a coordinated plan to prevent and destroy Donald Trump’s presidency. CIA stands with the Department and is committed to transparency and rebuilding trust in the IC. The American people deserve the opportunity to see the evidence for themselves.” – CIA Director John Ratcliffe
“Today, the Department of Justice provided Chairman Grassley with previously classified information relating to Special Counsel Durham’s investigation into possible coordination between the Clinton campaign and the Obama administration to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. This Department of Justice, alongside the CIA, is committed to truth and transparency and will continue to support good-faith efforts by Congress to hold our government accountable. Chairman Grassley is leading by example and shining light on critical issues of great interest to the American people.” – Attorney General Pamela Bondi
“The American people deserve the full, unfiltered truth about the Russia collusion hoax and the political abuse of our justice system it exposed. Today’s declassification and release of documents tied to the Durham report is another step toward that accountability. The FBI will continue working tirelessly with our federal partners at DOJ, CIA, and more to uncover the facts that should have been brought to light years ago. I’m grateful to Chairman Grassley for his steadfast leadership on this issue, and I look forward to our continued partnership in exposing one of the most shameful frauds ever perpetrated on the American public.” – FBI Director Kash Patel
During an appearance on Fox News Thursday morning, Grassley stated flatly that Comey’s FBI had “a hand in” the effort to smear Trump with the fake Russia collusion allegations.