Declassified Files Allege Clinton Campaign Approved Plan to Tie Trump to Russia
Newly declassified intelligence documents suggest that during the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton personally approved a strategy from one of her aides to connect then-candidate Donald Trump to Russia—despite the allegations being unfounded. The plan, according to the files, aimed to shift public attention away from Clinton’s own mounting email controversy and toward questions about Trump’s supposed ties to the Kremlin.
The documents describe a deliberate messaging effort to “raise the theme of Putin’s support for Trump” and “steer public opinion toward equating” Russian political influence with actual interference in U.S. election systems. One memo states explicitly:
“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.’”
This information surfaced during Special Counsel John Durham’s multi-year probe into intelligence operations surrounding the 2016 election. At the request of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and other senior U.S. intelligence officials authorized the release of the material from Durham’s investigation.
Grassley, in a statement, accused the Obama-era FBI of failing to thoroughly review and investigate intelligence that pointed to the Clinton campaign’s role in advancing what he called a “fake Trump-Russia narrative.” He argued that this was accomplished through channels such as the Steele Dossier and other politically driven means.
“These intelligence reports and related records, whether true or false, were buried for years,” Grassley said. “History will show that the Obama and Biden administrations’ law enforcement and intelligence agencies were weaponized against President Trump. 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 with maximum speed and transparency.”
The newly released documents are not the only revelations adding fuel to the controversy. Last week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released memos indicating that U.S. intelligence officials had concluded Russia played no significant role in Trump’s victory over Clinton.
Investigative journalist Paul Sperry of Real Clear Investigations posted on X that sources had informed him of “damning” communications—text messages and emails—purportedly showing direct coordination between Clinton campaign aides and senior Obama administration officials, including the White House, National Security Council, State Department, and members of the Intelligence Community.
“DEVELOPING: I’m told there are texts/emails indicating Hillary Clinton campaign aides directly coordinated with the Obama White House, NSC, State Dept and Intelligence Community officials in efforts to dig up dirt tying Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin in July 2016 … developing …” Sperry wrote.
Gabbard’s disclosures also included a 2016 memo addressed to President Barack Obama that bluntly stated: “Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent U.S. election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure.” While acknowledging isolated incidents—such as a breach of Illinois voter rolls and failed hacking attempts in other states—the memo asserted that none of these efforts came close to altering outcomes.
“The targeting of infrastructure not used in casting ballots makes it highly unlikely it would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote,” the document reads. “Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes.”
For Trump and his allies, the documents serve as vindication for his long-standing claim that the Russia collusion story was a politically motivated hoax designed to undermine his presidency before it began. The fallout may now extend to the architects of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, as FBI officials are reportedly laying the groundwork for potential criminal probes into former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, and others involved in initiating and sustaining the inquiry.
If the allegations in these declassified records prove accurate, they could reshape the historical understanding of the 2016 election—and further intensify scrutiny over the intersection of intelligence operations and partisan politics.