From Fox News: The credible foreign sources indicating the FBI and the Obama administration would play a role in spreading the salacious Trump–Russia narrative — before the bureau ever launched its probe — were allegedly tied to George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, according to an explosive document declassified Thursday morning.
The appendix to former Special Counsel John Durham’s report released by the Senate Judiciary Committee sheds stunning light on what Chairman Chuck Grassley describes as “one of the biggest political scandals and cover-ups in American history.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi worked in coordination to declassify the information.
Before its official release, sources exclusively briefed Fox News Digital on some of the contents of the appendix — including that the U.S. intelligence community had credible foreign sources indicating that the FBI would play a role in spreading the salacious Trump–Russia collusion narrative — before the bureau ever launched its controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe.
NEW I just released the declassified Durham annex I’ll be on Fox News SOON to talk abt my findings
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) July 31, 2025
Grassley said “history will show that the Obama and Biden administration’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies were weaponized against President Trump.”
The Fox report says George Soros’ Open Society Foundations was allegedly tied to the foreign sources, according to the appendix. It says that in 2016, Russian government actors hacked emails from the Open Society Foundations, formerly known as the Soros Foundation.
“Two of the apparently hacked emails appear to have originated from the Open Society Foundations,” the appendix states, noting that the purported author of these emails was Leonard Bernardo, who was the regional director for Eurasia at the Open Society Foundations.
“During the first stage of the campaign, due to lack of direct evidence, it was decided to disseminate the necessary information through the FBI-affiliated…technical structures… in particular, the Crowdstrike and ThreatConnect companies, from where the information would then be disseminated through leading U.S. publications,” Bernardo reportedly wrote.
I another email, Bernardo reportedly states: “HRC (Hillary Rodham Clinton) approved Julie’s idea about Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections.”
“This should distract people from her own missing email, especially if the affair goes to the Olympic level,” Bernardo is cited as saying, per the annex. “The point is making the Russian play a U.S. domestic issue. Say something like a critical infrastructure threat for the election to feel manic since both POTUS and VPOTUS have acknowledge[d] the fact IC would speed up searching for evidence that is regrettably still unavailable.”
FBI’s Trump–Russia investigation, Crossfire Hurricane, was launched days after that, on July 31, 2016.
Durham interviewed several people, and the Bernardo emails were evaluated to be “likely authentic.”
According to the appendix, the Clinton campaign “might have wanted or expected the FBI or other agencies to aid that effort (“put more oil into the fire”) by commencing a formal investigation of the DNC hack.”
“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. “These intelligence reports and related records, whether true or false, were buried for years.”
“This political weaponization has caused critical damage to our institutions and is one of the biggest political scandals and cover-ups in American history,” Grassley said. “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.”
CIA and DOJ’s declassification of the Durham Report Appendix, along with DNI’s efforts, further advances President Trump’s directive for maximum transparency and fulfills Sen. Grassley’s request for disclosure.https://t.co/NTQpgoW9d4 pic.twitter.com/JmXYr7flpg
— CIA (@CIA) July 31, 2025
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