Columbia News

Senator Eric Schmitt posted a series of tweets on July 31, 2025, alleging coordination between the Clinton campaign and George Soros's Open Society Foundation to influence public perception regarding Donald Trump and Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

In his first tweet, Schmitt referenced an email from July 25, 2016: "On July 25, 2016, right before the DNC, an email from Leonard Benardo—a VP at Soros's Open Society Foundation and close associate of the Clinton campaign—shows that Clinton and her staffers plotted 'a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump.'" (July 31, 2025).

In a subsequent post made on the same day, Schmitt cited new details allegedly revealed in materials related to the Durham Report: "The newly released appendix to the Durham Report reveals that the Clinton campaign colluded with George Soros's Open Society Foundation to cook up the Trump-Russia hoax and possibly induce an FBI investigation. This is huge. We have the paper trail. " (July 31, 2025).

Schmitt further claimed in another tweet that Hillary Clinton personally approved efforts to advance narratives about Russian interference: "Another email two days later from Benardo reveals that Clinton herself approved promoting the Trump-Russia narrative, with the goal of making Russian interference an issue in the election and distracting from her own email scandal." (July 31, 2025).

Senator Eric Schmitt represents Missouri in the United States Senate. The Durham Report refers to Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation into potential misconduct by U.S. government officials during probes into alleged connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia during the 2016 election cycle. The report has been subject to significant political debate since its release.