Burn Bags Found in FBI Facility Allegedly Link Soros to Trump–Russia Probe

Newly surfaced information suggests that “burn bags” found in a secure FBI facility may have contained classified documents connecting billionaire donor George Soros to early efforts to tie Donald Trump to Russia. The bags were discovered in a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at FBI headquarters.

According to CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel, the contents included a classified appendix from Special Counsel John Durham’s report on the Trump–Russia investigation. The appendix reportedly details a plan—allegedly involving Soros’s Open Society Foundation—to spread unfounded Trump-Russia claims before the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” probe officially launched in July 2016.

The documents suggest that emails from Soros’s foundation, reportedly hacked by Russian operatives, included internal messages discussing how to frame Trump and Vladimir Putin as election threats. One email, allegedly written by Leonard Bernardo, a regional director at the Open Society Foundations, mentioned that “Julie,” believed to be a Clinton campaign advisor, was pushing a strategy to “demonize Putin and Trump” to gain a post-convention boost.

Bernardo’s emails also allegedly state that Hillary Clinton approved this strategy, and that the FBI and private contractors like CrowdStrike would help disseminate the narrative through major U.S. media outlets. One message reportedly predicted that the FBI would “put more oil into the fire” to escalate the matter.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called the appendix “one of the biggest political scandals and cover-ups in American history.” Fox News reports the FBI launched Crossfire Hurricane just days after the emails were written.