Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on July 31 released a declassified annex to former special counsel John Durham’s 2023 report on the FBI’s investigation into allegations of Trump campaign–Russia ties.
According to statements by Grassley, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, the report suggests that the Hillary Clinton campaign sought to falsely claim that then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had ties with the Russian government, while the FBI failed to investigate the matter.
“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,” Bondi said in a statement.
Her statement was echoed by Ratcliffe.
Information in the Durham annex, Ratcliffe said, shows that there was “a coordinated plan to prevent and destroy Donald Trump’s presidency” during his first term.
In one of the now-declassified memos, it said that the Clinton campaign “approved a plan proposed by 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.’”
That information was uncovered by Durham during his probe of the FBI and other intelligence activities during that election.
“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,” Grassley said in a statement.
Grassley described it as “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,” he said.
According to the senator, the FBI also failed to investigate whether Clinton campaign officials came up with the Russia collusion narrative, which became a heavy focus of media outlets during the initial stages of Trump’s first term in office. He also faulted the bureau for using a now-discredited dossier created by former UK spy Christopher Steele to obtain surveillance warrants targeting 2016 Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
The Durham Report, released in May 2023, was the culmination of a four-year investigation led by Durham into the FBI’s probe of alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Clinton testified to Durham under oath, as did officials who were in top intelligence positions during the 2016 elections.
Durham probed the FBI’s investigation into Trump and found that it was triggered by unverified intelligence. He later told lawmakers after the report was released in 2023 that “based on our investigation, it is not a legitimate basis to open a full investigation.”
The Epoch Times contacted Clinton’s office for comment on Thursday.
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
If you found this article interesting, please consider supporting traditional journalism
Our first edition was published 25 years ago from a basement in Atlanta. Today, The Epoch Times brings fact-based, award-winning journalism to millions of Americans.
Our journalists have been threatened, arrested, and assaulted, but our commitment to independent journalism has never wavered. This year marks our 25th year of independent reporting, free from corporate and political influence.
That’s why you’re invited to a limited-time introductory offer — just $1 per week — so you can join millions already celebrating independent news.
