Newly declassified intelligence documents indicate that Hillary Clinton signed off on a strategy during the 2016 presidential election to tie then-candidate Donald Trump to Russian interference efforts, a move allegedly designed to divert attention from scrutiny over her private email server.
The details came to light as part of Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation into intelligence community activities surrounding the 2016 election cycle. According to the documents, the initiative was intended to stir public perception by amplifying narratives suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin was backing Trump, and to equate this with direct interference in U.S. election systems.
A memo from the released files states, “Clinton approved a plan proposed by one of her foreign policy advisors, Julianne Smith, 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 materials, which stem from Durham’s multi-year inquiry, were made public following a request from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Declassification was carried out by Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and other intelligence officials, reports the New York Post.
Sen. Grassley criticized the response of federal agencies during the Obama administration, stating, “Based on the Durham annex, the Obama FBI failed to adequately review and investigate intelligence reports showing the Clinton campaign may have been ginning up the fake Trump-Russia narrative for Clinton’s political gain, which was ultimately done through the Steele Dossier and other means.”
He added, “These intelligence reports and related records, whether true or false, were buried for years. History will show that the Obama and Biden administration’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies were weaponized against President Trump.”
Grassley concluded that the damage inflicted by such actions had severely impacted institutional trust: “This political weaponization has caused critical damage to our institutions and is one of the biggest political scandals and cover-ups in American history. The new Trump administration has a tremendous responsibility to the American people to fix the damage done and do so with maximum speed and transparency.”
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