Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Thursday released newly declassified sections of a former special counsel's report that show that the intelligence agencies under former Democrat Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden were "weaponized" against President Donald Trump.
The declassified appendix, or annex, to former special counsel John Durham's 2023 report sheds more light on Hillary Clinton's campaign efforts to falsely tie Trump to Russia and the FBI's failure to investigate those efforts, Grassley said in the release.
"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," Grassley said in the release.
"History will show that the Obama and Biden administration's 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," he added.
Durham was charged with investigating the origins of Russiagate by then-Attorney General Bill Barr, who in December 2020 elevated Durham's status to special counsel in order to keep investigating after Trump left office.
Key findings of Durham's annex, declassified by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel at Grassley's request, include a January 2016 memo that noted Obama's intention to quash an FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server and mishandling of classified documents during her time as secretary of state.
A March 2016 memo divulged another reference to scuttling that probe but also a plan to falsely connect Trump to Russia, according to the annex.
"This memo stated, in part, that '[the Democratic Party's] opposition is focused on discrediting Trump … [a]mong other things, the Clinton staff, with support from special services, is preparing scandalous revelations of business relations between Trump and the 'Russian Mafia,''" according to Grassley's release.
Durham's 306-page unclassified report was released in May 2023. The classified annex to Durham's report was discovered by Patel in a burn bag in a secret room at FBI headquarters, it was reported Wednesday.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.