What Soros Group Says About Reputed Ties to Clinton Campaign in Pushing Russia Hoax

An executive with the George Soros-aligned Open Society Foundations appears to have coordinated with a staffer from the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign to promote the discredited Donald Trump-Russian collusion narrative, according to declassified information released this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

However, the Open Society Foundations told The Daily Signal that alleging it orchestrated an FBI probe was an “outrageous falsehood” and “malicious disinformation traced to Russian intelligence.”

The declassified information came from the investigative files of former special counsel John Durham, who investigated the origins of the conspiracy theory that led to costly Justice Department and congressional investigations. The 29 pages are referred to as the “Durham annex.” The Durham investigation did not allege wrongdoing by the Open Society Foundation.

“The Durham annex describes that, in July 2016, the FBI received additional intelligence regarding a possible Clinton Campaign Plan, including documents with purported emails allegedly sent by Leonard Benardo, senior vice president of Soros’ Open Society Foundations,” the Senate Judiciary Committee description of the documents says. “The intelligence included data providing specificity on the plan and the attempt to smear then-candidate Donald Trump by falsely linking him to Russia, while apparently counting on the support of the FBI to open up an investigation.”

The emails appear to show Benardo interacted with Julianne Smith, a Clinton campaign foreign policy adviser, Center Square reported. The discussion was about how to use reports of Russian interference in the U.S. election to Clinton’s advantage and to harm Trump. However, Benardo told special counsel investigators he didn’t remember writing the emails, according to Center Square. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee release also quotes the Durham annex with a purported Benardo message saying, “The media analysis on the [Democratic National Committee] hacking appears solid … . [Smith] says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump. Now it is good for a post-convention bounce. Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire.”

An Open Society Foundations spokesperson said the emails were fake.

“The claim that the Open Society Foundations helped orchestrate an FBI investigation is an outrageous falsehood,” the OSF spokesperson told The Daily Signal. “It is grounded in malicious disinformation traced to Russian intelligence and now weaponized as part of a politically motivated campaign to attack our leadership and our work to promote human rights. The Durham report found no wrongdoing by our staff. We are a nonpartisan organization and do not engage in political campaign activity. These accusations are not just reckless, they are dangerous. They reflect a broader effort to foment hostility and undermine civil society—and they are calculated to distract from real scandals.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, commented on the bigger picture revealed by the new declassified information.

“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 [Christopher] Steele Dossier and other means,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a public statement.

“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 continued. “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.” 

This article has been updated since publication. to include a comment from the Open Society Foundations.

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