REVEALED: George Soros’ Open Society Foundations linked to Russia collusion hoax: Durham annex

"Two of the apparently hacked emails appear to have originated from the Open Society Foundations," the annex stated. The Open Society Foundations was founded by George Soros. His son, Alex Soros, serves as chair. "The purported author of these emails was Leonard Benardo, who was the Regional Director for Eurasia at the Open Society Foundations. In that capacity, Benardo oversaw efforts relating to Russia and the former Soviet republics, among other countries."

One such email from Benardo, dated July 25, 2016, read, "The media analysis on the DNC hacking appears solid. This is an important story because it would be the first time (that we know of) that a state deliberately uses the infiltration and publication of data to interfere in the US election. At the same time, politicization is on the table."

Another email sent by Benardo just two days later stated that Hillary Clinton had approved a campaign advisor’s "idea about Trump and Russian hackers tampering [with] US elections.”

“That should distract people from her own missing email, especially if the affair goes to the Olympic level. The point is making the Russian play a US domestic issue. Say something like a critical infrastructure threat for the election to feel menace since both POTUS and VPOTUS have acknowledged the fact IC would speed up searching for evidence that is regrettably still unavailable,” the message added.

A translated draft memorandum stated, "During the first stage of the campaign, due to a lack of direct evidence, it was decided to disseminate the necessary information through the FBI-affiliated 'attic-based' technical structures that are involved in cybersecurity, in particular, the CrowdStrike and ThreatConnect Companies, from where the information would then be disseminated through leading US publications."

Benardo, when interviewed for the report, stated that the emails "did not look familiar to him, and that he would not have used certain terms, such as 'oil into the fire.'" He also claimed to not know who "Julie," the campaign advisor named in one of the emails with his name on it, was.

"Benardo stated that, to the best of his recollection, he did not draft the emails."

Analysts interviewed for the report stated that their “best assessment was that the Benardo emails were likely authentic. Multiple analysts noted that the Russians had, in fact, hacked Benardo’s emails. Some analysts also noted it was possible, however, that the Russians might have fabricated or altered purported US emails.”

Declassified Durham Annex by Hannah Nightingale