In the summer of 2016, then-Vice President Joe Biden became the first major Democrat to publicly tie Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin—timing that U.S. intelligence officials later found suspiciously aligned with intercepted evidence suggesting the Clinton campaign had approved a plan to vilify Trump by pushing a Russia narrative.
Newly declassified materials from Special Counsel John Durham’s 2023 report confirm that the intelligence community had intercepted Russian chatter indicating Moscow had accessed internal discussions from Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Those intercepts suggested Clinton had approved a strategy on July 26, 2016, to link Trump to Russian interference, as a way to distract from her email scandal.
Just days later, Biden launched a public messaging effort focused on Trump and Russia—coinciding with the Democratic National Convention. Speaking to ABC News on July 26, Biden said, “I think Putin doesn’t want a united NATO or EU… I could see where adversaries might prefer someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.” He continued pushing that line in other media appearances and again during his prime-time DNC speech on July 27, warning that Trump “embraces dictators like Vladimir Putin.”
Intercepted Emails and CIA Briefings
Durham’s report and its annex revealed that some intercepted Russian intelligence—including purported emails from a George Soros associate and Clinton foreign policy adviser Julianne Smith—suggested an internal Clinton campaign push to tie Trump to Russia, anticipating the FBI would “add fuel to the fire.” While the CIA debated the authenticity of these messages, some analysts concluded they were composites of real communications obtained through Russian hacking.
Former CIA Director John Brennan briefed top Obama officials—including Biden and President Obama—in early August 2016 about what became known as “Clinton Plan intelligence.” Brennan’s notes indicate Clinton had approved a proposal to “vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian security services.”
Durham: Clinton Aides Acted on the Plan
Durham identified “Foreign Policy Advisor-1” as Julianne Smith—then a Clinton campaign official and former Biden advisor. Her July 27, 2016 email sought support for a statement condemning Trump’s position on NATO and Russia. Smith also discussed contacting Biden’s vice presidential office to seek intelligence community insight into the DNC hacking investigation.
Though Smith claimed she couldn’t recall proposing such a strategy, Durham concluded that her emails and coordination efforts “lend at least some credence that such a plan existed.” Another Clinton adviser, Jake Sullivan—now Biden’s national security adviser—denied knowledge of any such plan, calling the idea “ridiculous.”
Biden Campaigns on Anti-Trump, Pro-NATO Message
Biden continued advancing the Russia narrative throughout the 2016 campaign, even saying during an August rally that Trump “would have loved Stalin.” He also traveled to Latvia that month to reassure Baltic allies of America’s NATO commitment and downplay Trump’s remarks on Article 5. When asked in October how the U.S. would respond to Russian hacking, Biden said, “We’re sending a message… He [Putin] will know it, and it will be at the time of our choosing.”
Clinton and Allies Press the Link
While Clinton initially avoided making the Trump-Russia link directly, she joined the push by October 31, tweeting about a supposed secret server between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank—claims later debunked but amplified by Sullivan, who called the alleged connection “the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump’s ties to Russia.”
Durham’s findings suggest the Trump-Putin narrative, widely accepted by mainstream media and much of the public, was at least partially rooted in a deliberate political strategy rather than verified intelligence. The lasting impact of that narrative, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, remains a legacy of the 2016 election.
