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Soros’ alleged ties to Russiagate exposed in declassified annex of Durham report

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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.
FBI’S CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP-RUSSIA ACTIONS PREDICTED WITH ‘ALARMING SPECIFICITY’ BY FOREIGN ACTORS: SOURCES
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.
(George Soros (left) and Hillary Clinton (right) )
A source familiar with the contents of the classified appendix told Fox News Digital that while it may not have been exactly clear in the moment what the intelligence collection meant, with the benefit of hindsight, it predicted the FBI’s next move «with alarming specificity.»
The appendix reveals that the foreign sources were allegedly tied to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.
The appendix said that Russian government actors in 2016 reportedly 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 in an email, per the appendix.

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.» (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«The media analysis on the DNC hacking appears solid…. Julie (Clinton Campaign Advisor) says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump. Now it is good for a post-convention bounce,» Bernardo allegedly wrote, per the appendix. «Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire.»
Another email reportedly from Bernardo 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 continued, 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 the fact IC would speed up searching for evidence that is regrettably still unavailable.»
Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI’s Trump–Russia investigation, was opened just several days later, on July 31, 2016.
The appendix reveals that Durham’s team interviewed numerous FBI personnel involved in the Crossfire Hurricane probe. Durham said those he interviewed believed the Bernardo emails to be «likely authentic.»
Durham’s appendix states that 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.»
PATEL FOUND THOUSANDS OF SENSITIVE TRUMP–RUSSIA PROBE DOCS INSIDE ‘BURN BAGS’ IN SECRET ROOM AT FBI
Communications the Durham team reviewed additionally supported that the Clinton campaign was allegedly engaged in a plan to tie Trump to Russia, and that the campaign wanted or expected the office of the vice president, the FBI or other parts of the intelligence community, such as the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), to aid that effort.
«The Office’s best assessment is that the … emails that purport to be from Bernardo were ultimately a composite of several emails that were obtained through Russian intelligence hacking of the U.S.-based Think Tanks, including the Open Society Foundations, the Carnegie Endowment, and others,» the Durham annex states.

Special Counsel John Durham indicated the Department of Justice and FBI «failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law» when it launched the Trump-Russia investigation. (Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)
«It is a logical deduction (redacted) (Julianne) Smith was, at minimum, playing a role in the Clinton campaign’s efforts to tie Trump to Russia,» Durham writes, also noting that the communications reviewed «certainly lends at least some credence that such a plan existed.»
In 2020, Fox News Digital exclusively reported that former CIA Director John Brennan, in the summer of 2016, briefed former President Barack Obama and administration officials on intelligence that then-Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Clinton reportedly was stirring up a plan to tie Trump to Russia.
Ratcliffe, as director of national intelligence, declassified Brennan’s handwritten notes memorializing that meeting, which were exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in October 2020.
On July 28, 2016, Brennan briefed Obama on a plan allegedly by one of Clinton’s campaign foreign policy advisors «to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.»
Comey, then-Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were at the Brennan–Obama briefing.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, pictured here, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Attorney General Pam Bondi worked in coordination to declassify the information. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
After that briefing, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, with the subject line: «Crossfire Hurricane.»
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained and reported on the CIOL in October 2020, which stated: «The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate.»
«Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,» the memo continued. «An exchange (REDACTED) discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.»
The FBI on July 31, 2016, opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether candidate Trump and members of his campaign were colluding or coordinating with Russia to influence the 2016 campaign. That investigation was referred to inside the bureau as «Crossfire Hurricane.»

The declassification and release of the classified annex was done with close coordination between Ratcliffe, Patel, Gabbard, Bondi and acting National Security Agency Director William Hartman — along with Grassley, who ultimately released the document to the public. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The declassification and release of the classified annex was done with close coordination between Ratcliffe, Patel, Gabbard, Bondi and acting National Security Agency Director William Hartman — along with Grassley, who ultimately released the document to the public.
Meanwhile, while Ratcliffe was director of National Intelligence in 2020, he provided intelligence to Durham as part of a larger trove of more than 1,000 documents.
FLASHBACK: RATCLIFFE SAYS ODNI HAS PROVIDED NEARLY 1,000 DOCUMENTS TO DOJ TO SUPPORT DURHAM PROBE
A former senior Trump official told Fox News Digital that Ratcliffe advocated for releasing the intelligence publicly then, but that Durham, who, at the time, was expected to release an interim report prior to the 2020 election, declined on the basis that it could negatively impact his investigation, which had not yet reached a determination on potential prosecutions.
«Durham said he wanted to preserve his investigation but was going to release an interim report,» the former official told Fox News Digital. «Then he said he was afraid he’d get accused of politicization and disappeared.»
The source added: «Thankfully the real politicization is all coming to light now.»

Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to take over the FBI’s original «Crossfire Hurricane» investigation (Carolyn Kaster, File/The Associated Press )
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to take over the FBI’s original «Crossfire Hurricane» investigation. After nearly two years, Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.
Shortly after, Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the «Crossfire Hurricane» probe.
EXCLUSIVE: DURHAM FINDS DOJ, FBI ‘FAILED TO UPHOLD’ MISSION OF ‘STRICT FIDELITY TO THE LAW’ IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE
Durham found that the FBI «failed to act» on a «clear warning sign» that the bureau was the «target» of an alleged Clinton-led effort to «manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes» ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
«The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI’s investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation,» Durham’s report states.

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. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
«Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye,» the report continued.
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Durham, in his report, said the FBI «failed to act on what should have been—when combined with other incontrovertible facts — a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Soros and Bernardo for comment and has yet to receive a reply.
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INTERNACIONAL
Imágenes satelitales muestran cómo el régimen de Irán reconstruye las plantas nucleares bombardeadas en la Guerra de los 12 días

Imágenes satelitales recientes muestran nuevos techos en dos instalaciones nucleares iraníes después de que fueran atacadas por Estados Unidos en junio del año pasado.
Las fotografías satelitales tomadas por Planet Labs PBC muestran estructuras reconstruidas sobre edificios previamente destruidos en los sitios nucleares de Natanz e Isfahan.
Estados Unidos atacó las instalaciones nucleares iraníes de Fordow, Isfahan y Natanz en junio de 2025, durante una guerra de 12 días entre Israel e Irán que paralizó las negociaciones nucleares entre Washington y Teherán.
Desde entonces, Teherán ha afirmado que su trabajo de enriquecimiento de uranio se ha detenido, pero las tensiones siguen siendo altas en medio de un despliegue militar de la Marina estadounidense cerca de Irán, tras una violenta represión contra manifestaciones antigubernamentales el mes pasado.
Las imágenes satelitales del 21 de junio de 2025 mostraban edificios destruidos en el sitio nuclear de Isfahan. Nuevas fotografías tomadas el 1 de febrero de 2026 revelan que se ha construido un nuevo techo sobre las estructuras previamente dañadas.
De manera similar, en Natanz, las imágenes del 17 de junio de 2025 mostraban instalaciones destruidas, mientras que las fotografías del 30 de enero de 2026 evidencian la construcción de nuevos techos sobre los edificios afectados.
El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, quien se abstuvo de cumplir las amenazas de intervenir durante la represión de las protestas, ha exigido desde entonces que Teherán haga concesiones nucleares y envió una flotilla a su costa.
Trump dijo la semana pasada que Irán estaba “hablando en serio”, mientras que el principal funcionario de seguridad de Teherán, Ali Larijani, afirmó que se están realizando los arreglos para negociaciones.
El presidente iraní Masud Pezeshkian ordenó este lunes la apertura de conversaciones con Estados Unidos sobre el programa nuclear de la República Islámica, después de que Trump se mostrara optimista sobre un acuerdo para evitar una intervención militar.
El ejército estadounidense ha trasladado el portaviones USS Abraham Lincoln y varios destructores con misiles guiados a Oriente Medio, intensificando la presión sobre Irán.
Estados Unidos exige que Irán renuncie por completo al enriquecimiento de uranio, algo a lo que Teherán se niega, alegando su derecho en virtud del Tratado de No Proliferación Nuclear, del que es signatario.
El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores iraní, Abbas Araghchi, dijo el domingo que Irán está “totalmente de acuerdo” con el rechazo de Trump a las armas nucleares. “Por supuesto, a cambio, esperamos un levantamiento de las sanciones”, añadió.

Las conversaciones previas entre Araghchi y el enviado especial de Trump, Steve Witkoff, se estancaron en la cuestión del enriquecimiento de uranio antes de la guerra de junio.
Países occidentales sospechan que la República Islámica pretende dotarse del arma atómica, algo que Teherán desmiente categóricamente.
Mientras tanto, Turquía está intentando organizar una reunión entre Witkoff y funcionarios iraníes para iniciar conversaciones que alivien la amenaza de una acción militar estadounidense contra la República Islámica, según dos funcionarios turcos.
La presión sobre Teherán se ha intensificado desde principios de enero, tras la feroz represión de una oleada de protestas que sacudió al país. Según la ONG Human Rights Activists News Agency, con sede en Estados Unidos, la represión dejó al menos 6.842 muertos confirmados, en su mayoría manifestantes.
La Unión Europea respondió a la represión designando al Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica como organización terrorista, lo que provocó que Irán convocara a todos los embajadores de la UE para protestar.
Irán ha advertido que cualquier ataque estadounidense conduciría a una “guerra regional”, según declaró el líder supremo, el ayatolá Alí Khamenei.
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Education experts warn Mamdani plan could gut NYC gifted programs, hurt low-income students

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Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has outlined plans to scale back the city’s Gifted and Talented program, prompting some education experts to warn that doing so could deprive high-achieving students, particularly those from low-income families, of critical academic opportunities.
Recent media reports indicate that Mamdani, who took office in January, intends to end the city’s Gifted and Talented program for kindergarten students and delay entry until third grade, a move critics argue would amount to a major weakening of accelerated learning options in the nation’s largest school district.
The plan is drawing sharp criticism from Defending Education, a national education watchdog group that previously fought, and won, a years-long legal battle to preserve New York’s gifted programs after it was argued that the admissions system had discriminatory effects and reinforced racial inequities in education.
«The Court of Appeals rightly concluded that the role of the judiciary is not to make education policy,» Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital, adding that the program complied with state education law and equal protection requirements.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to end the city’s Gifted and Talented program for kindergarten students and delay entry until third grade. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But Perry warned that Mamdani’s policy agenda could undo what the courts upheld.
«As we suspected he might, newly minted democratic socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani — himself, a product of expensive private schools — has pledged to shut down the gifted and talented program, despite the fact that it has helped countless students from humble backgrounds achieve their full academic potential,» Perry told Fox News Digital.
«Depriving kids of much-needed advanced learning opportunities is not only foolhardy, but it’s also the height of hypocrisy coming from someone who was born into affluence and attended costly private schools. Apparently, Mamdani believes only the privileged should have access to various educational opportunities.»
‘FULL-BLOWN BATTLE’ BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES

Mamdani has argued that early gifted testing contributes to inequities in the school system, though critics counter that dismantling selective programs does little to improve outcomes for struggling students while actively harming high performers.
Paul Runko, senior director of strategic initiatives for K-12 programs at Defending Education, echoed Perry’s concerns, emphasizing the impact such changes could have on working-class families.
«On behalf of parents who simply want the best possible education for their children, Defending Education spent years in court fighting to preserve New York City’s gifted and talented programs against efforts to use the courts to inject race into every aspect of the school system,» Runko said.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was elected in November 2025 and sworn in as the city’s first socialist mayor on Jan. 1, 2026. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
«Those efforts may succeed if Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves forward with eliminating these accelerated learning opportunities,» he warned. «Students, particularly those from lower-income families who benefit from NYC’s gifted and talented programs, deserve opportunities for academic excellence, not a one-size-fits-all approach that could weaken learning for all students.»
Mamdani’s office pushed back on Defending Education’s characterization, telling Fox News Digital that the administration opposes testing five-year-olds for gifted and talented programs but is not eliminating advanced learning opportunities across all grade levels.
Mamdani’s office said the focus is instead on reshaping the public school system to provide «rigorous» instruction for all students, rather than separating children at an early age.
Mamdani faced heated criticism from his opponents in the mayoral race regarding his plans to change the program, as well as from the Washington Post editorial board in October.
«Who could have guessed that Zohran Mamdani (D), the leading candidate to become the next New York mayor, would provoke a firestorm by announcing this week that he intends to phase out the city’s early elementary school programs for gifted students in the name of equity? Parents of bright children want access to schooling that meets their needs?» The Post wrote. «Shocking.»
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Iran ramps up regional threats as Trump considers talks, and eyewitness accounts of regime violence emerge

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As diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran gain momentum, Iran has intensified its rhetoric toward the region while continuing a violent crackdown at home, according to analysts and eyewitness accounts obtained by Fox News Digital.
On Sunday and Monday morning, Iran issued fresh warnings that any military strike on its territory would ignite a regional conflict, even as senior Iranian officials signaled a willingness to negotiate. Reuters reported Monday that Tehran is examining the possibility of renewed nuclear talks with the United States, with Turkey emerging as a potential venue and regional mediators, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, playing an active role, after President Donald Trump said he was hopeful a deal could be reached to avert military action against Iran.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, according to Axios. The publication also reported that Steve Witkoff will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul on Friday.
IRAN WILL RETALIATE ‘WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE’ IF US ATTACKS, SENIOR DIPLOMAT WARNS
The state tax building burned during Iran’s protests in Tehran, Jan. 19, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters)
The talks are expected to focus on Iran, following Zamir’s weekend visit to Washington, where he held a series of meetings with U.S. defense officials on the Islamic Republic.
Benny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Digital this pattern is consistent with Tehran’s long-standing strategy.
«This is very typical behavior for the Iranian regime,» Sabti said. He said Iran deliberately escalated threats days ago, warning that if it were attacked, no country in the Middle East would be safe. «They treat the region as if it is being held hostage,» he said, adding that the tactic appears to have worked.
Sabti pointed to the list of mediators now involved. «Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, all of them went to the United States pushing for talks,» he said. «They are trying to avoid being dragged into the Iranian threat.»
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ALREADY HAS US TERMS AS MILITARY STRIKE CLOCK TICKS

Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran on Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
According to Sabti, Tehran is also projecting mixed messages by design. «There are two voices coming out of Iran,» he said. «On one side, the generals, the IRGC, the military, escalating threats. On the other side, the foreign minister and the president are talking about negotiations.»
On Monday morning, Al Arabiya reported that Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars deleted a report that referenced approval for negotiations with the United States.
Sabti said that even Iran’s National Security Council reflects this dual messaging. He noted that a deputy official recently signaled Iran would not yet further advance its enriched uranium, while military officials simultaneously escalated rhetoric. «It is meant to confuse the enemy and to keep the entire Middle East under pressure,» he said.
While Iran’s external posture oscillates between threats and diplomacy, reports from inside the country point to an intensifying crackdown on protesters.
Independent casualty estimates vary widely. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that, based on its latest aggregated data, 6,842 people had been confirmed killed by the end of the 36th day of protests. According to HRANA, 6,425 of those killed were recorded as protesters, while 146 were children under the age of 18. An additional 11,280 cases remain under review. HRANA and other opposition-linked groups have warned that the final toll could be significantly higher, with some estimates reaching as high as 30,000 deaths.
Fox News Digital received eyewitness accounts from individuals identified as part of the MEK’s Resistance Units network inside Iran.
IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER ACKNOWLEDGES THOUSANDS KILLED AS TRUMP CALLS FOR NEW LEADERSHIP: REPORTS

Opposition-linked groups warn that the final death toll could be as high as 30,000. (MAHSA/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images))
One eyewitness from Eslamshahr, a southern district of Tehran, said a group of 27 protesters was fired upon, killing 10. The source said a cousin was killed, another cousin, Melika, 20, was mutilated, and the bodies were buried in a nearby park.
In Lahijan, in northern Gilan Province, an eyewitness said 30 protesters were shot outside the governor’s office on Jan. 8, with seven later dying in the hospital. In Shiraz, a 16-year-old said he was shot with pellet guns in the lips, eye and throat and is now experiencing vision problems.
Another eyewitness from Bandar Abbas in southern Iran said that since Jan. 18, martial law has been imposed, with residents barred from the streets after 4 p.m. local time. The source claimed security forces entered hospitals to remove or kill wounded protesters and that families were allegedly told to pay 10 billion rials, roughly $8,000, to recover the bodies of their children.
Sabti said the renewed diplomacy has also deepened public disillusionment inside Iran.
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Iranian security forces allegedly killed detainees and burned bodies during protests, with clashes continuing in Kermanshah, Rasht and Mashhad despite government claims. (NCRI)
«Many protesters are very disappointed,» he said. «When Trump said on Jan. 13 that ‘help is on its way,’ they believed it. They were very emotional about it. After 47 years, an American president was speaking in support of the Iranian people. But now they interpret his words as helping the regime, not the protesters. The disappointment is very deep.»
Reuters contributed to this report.
iran,world protests,saudi arabia,turkey,israel,donald trump
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