Republicans Took Secret Payments from Clinton Campaign-Reported as Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Records show that three or six Republican leaders took secret payments from the Clinton campaign to destroy Trump by speaking out against him.
The Truth:
There’s no proof that Republican leaders took secret payments from the Clinton campaign to “destroy Trump.”
Those rumors spread across fringe websites like the Conservative Daily Post and End the Fed (ETF) in mid-December 2016 that cite “new information from Wikileaks” that apparently doesn’t exist.
The reports reference an email that John Podesta sent to Huma Abedin containing Document Number 1078645 that proves prominent Republican took secret payments from the Clinton campaign to destroy Trump. The reports quote an excerpt from the email:
“JB, CF, and JK PACS will be noticeably silent for the rest of the campaign. Each will receive a significant allowance from advertising budget. HRC is in the loop and has talked to all three personally. Eyes only.”
The report goes on to claim that the initials clearly refer to Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and John Kasich — all who were critical of President-elect Trump throughout the campaign. Other versions of the rumor state that six Republican leaders took secret payments.
We couldn’t find any trace of Document Number 1078645 or of secret payments to Republicans in Wikileak’s searchable database of leaked Podesta emails.
And Fox News’ Sean Hannity specifically asked Wikileaks founder Julian Assange about Document Number 1078645 and rumors that Republicans took secret payments from the Clinton campaign to destroy Trump. Assange indicates he’s not familiar with such a document, but he didn’t entirely shut the door on it, either:
Hannity: Let me ask you about Wikileaks, and I think this could shake up the political world. Is it true an email sent in July of this year that you have describes how funds could be diverted from the Clinton campaign to the super PACs of Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and John Kasich, specifically Document Number 1078645?
Assange: I don’t have that in front of me. We have published nearly 100,000 documents. I have seen records of things like that, I don’t recall seeing an ‘eyes only’ phrase.
Hannity: Do you recal any quid pro quo as it relates to Senator Lindsey Graham, that he would get some assistance … when he ran for re-election in the Senate.
Assange: I don’t know that Lindsey Graham is in the released emails.
Given that there’s no record of Document Number 1078645, or any proof that Republicans took secret payments from the Clinton campaign to destroy Trump, we’re reporting this one as fiction.