A newly surfaced document has added fresh details to the public’s understanding of a complex set of 2016 Russian intelligence reports that examined alleged emails stolen by Russian hackers from American individuals.Indian origin FBI director Kash Patel said that they have found and declassified intel on how the US Intelligence Community handled claims tying then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to Russia during the 2016 election.The document in question is a purported email dated July 27, 2016, alleging that Hillary Clinton had approved a campaign strategy to link Donald Trump to Russia in order to divert attention from the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server, reports the New York Times. The Russian intelligence memos first drew public attention in 2017, when The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on then-FBI Director James Comey’s decision to break with Justice Department protocol. Comey publicly addressed the Clinton email investigation, criticizing her use of a private server while ultimately concluding that no criminal charges were warranted.‘We uncovered this annex, along with thousands of other documents, buried in a back room at the FBI.It revealed a highly classified piece of the Durham report: evidence that the Clinton campaign plotted to frame President Trump and fabricate the Russia collusion hoax.We worked with Chairman Grassley and declassified the documents immediately. And now the American people can see the truth for themselves,” said Kash Patel through a post on X.“Good summary of what we @fbifound and declassified, for the first time ever. More to come” he posted, quoting another post referring to the annex.The annex reportedly revealed “evidence that the Clinton campaign plotted to frame President Trump and fabricate the Russia collusion hoax,” said Kash Patel. Donald Trump and his allies have accused former President Obama of “treason” as the newly released documents offered fresh insight into a pivotal political period nearly a decade ago, reports the New York Times.Former CIA Director John Ratcliffe claimed the materials confirmed that the Russia collusion narrative originated from “a coordinated plan to prevent and destroy Donald Trump’s presidency.”“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 weaponised against President Trump,” said senator Chuck Grassley said as per the New York Post. The annex, however, casts a doubt on a central piece of evidence behind the allegations that Hillary Clinton approved of a plan to link Donald Trump to Russia. Special counsel John Durham concluded that the July 27, 2016, email, along with a related message from two days earlier, was likely fabricated. “Whether or not the Clinton Plan intelligence was based on reliable or unreliable information, or was ultimately true or false,” FBI agents should have exercised greater caution when handling material that seemed to stem from partisan sources, Durham noted, as per the New York Times.
