Gregg Jarrett - The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump

W inston Churchill once said that composing a book is an adventure. It begins as a toy, then evolves into an amusement, a mistress, a master, and, eventually, a tyrant. He was right. It is not an experience for the faint of heart.

There are many people to whom I am grateful. David Limbaugh, a fine lawyer and author in his own right, was kind enough to provide counsel and advice in negotiating the contract to write this book. I am indebted to him for his generosity.

Eric Nelson, executive editor at HarperCollins, was instrumental in shaping the content into a more readable book. He displayed both wisdom and patience for a first-time author. He also had the courage to tell me that not all of the roughly one hundred thousand words I submitted were good enough for print. His edits were sensible, yet judicious. I am thankful for his guidance. A special thanks to the rest of the team at HarperCollins.

Mike Plante furnished research and valuable assistance in many of the interviews that were conducted. I am most appreciative to all of the former federal prosecutors and FBI officials who gave freely of their time to be interviewed. Their insights and candor improved the book immeasurably. A special thank you to Joseph diGenova, Victoria Toensing, and Doug Burns.

My sincere thanks to Sean Hannity, who liked the notion of a book from the outset. He was a constant source of support, providing his friendship and good ideas as the chapters developed. More than anyone else, he unraveled and reported many of the corrupt acts identified in these pages. I owe him a great deal. His staff, Porter Berry, Tiffany Fazio, Bret Zoeller, Christen Limbaugh, Alyssa Moni, Francesca Nestande, and Lynda McLaughlin, were especially encouraging.

Lou Dobbs, a driving force at the Fox Business Network, contributed his enthusiasm for the book and his endorsement of me personally as a guest on his program. His great staff of Anne McCarton, Lilah Sabalones, Abigail Penn, Travis Altman, Robert Regan, Michael Biondi, Mike LaMarca, and Sabrina Lee have been exceedingly kind.

Many others at Fox News deserve recognition. My friend Lynn Jordal Martin, senior opinion editor for the Fox News website, kept urging me to write a book. Refet Kaplan, Greg Wilson, Janet Cawley, and Morgan Debelle Duplan gave prominence to my opinion columns. Kimberly Sialiano helped with the computer format and other advice. Courtney Stein Lesskis supplied needed legal research in a pinch. Mary Kate Cribbin lent a friendly ear to my frustrations. Rich Reichmuth tolerated my anxieties and kept coaxing me to move forward. Lis Wiehl, a veteran author and good friend, offered wisdom when needed, which was fairly often.

My wife and two daughters were an endless supply of love, encouragement, and support. Without them, I would never have embarked on this adventure. My sister, Janet, kept faith in me, as she has since I can remember. My mothers spirit is always a presence in me.

Finally, many of the quotations at the beginning of each chapter came from the books my late father left me. Joseph W. Jarrett bequeathed to me his vast law library, which has dwindled over the years. But I retained a few special books to which I turned when in need of quotes to help frame the issues at hand. My father also gave me his love of the law and its navigating principles. He was the finest lawyer I ever knew.

On a more personal note, I recognize my failings plainly and regret them. Like many people, I have faltered in life. Still, I chose to write this book myself. These are my words within the pages. If mistakes were made, they are mine alone.

GREGG JARRETT is a legal and political analyst for Fox News, and was an anchor at the network for fifteen years. Before joining Fox News, he was an anchor and correspondent for MSNBC and an anchor for Court TV. He is a former trial attorney. He lives in Stamford, Connecticut.

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Convenience is not a legal principle.

L ORD J USTICE E DWARD P EARCE , Q UEENS B ENCH , H IGH C OURT OF J USTICE OF E NGLAND AND W ALES (1961)

T his is a story of corruption. It begins, as it must, with Hillary Clinton.

Clintons determination to set up a private email server in the basement of her home to use as the exclusive method for electronically communicating all of her official business as secretary of state was a fateful decision. At its core, the idea was fundamentally reckless. It also appears to have been criminal. More than any other event or factor, it led to the inexorable end to her aspiration to be President of the United States.

The Email Setup

Unraveling Clintons private server apparatus was complicated by the hidden nature of its design. The domain was not registered in her name, but under a separate identity even though the IP address was connected to the Chappaqua, New York, residence of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Indeed, the server itself was installed in the basement of their house.

Why would Clinton want to keep all her communications as secretary of state on a private server? The obvious answer is often the correct one. With no emails on a government account, Clinton would be able to avoid complying with various requests filed by the media and the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This explanation is reinforced by the conscious decision she and her staff made not to utilize an electronic program called SMART, which would have preserved her records for the government.

The motivation behind Clintons decision to use a secret server invites the question: if someone has nothing to hide, why hide? People who engage in improper, if not illegal, activities often cloak them in darkness. They seek to obscure their illicit behavior. Clinton may have wanted to hide decisions and mistakes that would look bad when she ran for president. She may have wanted to keep from public view any evidence that she and her husband used her position of power in government to enrich themselves. As will be detailed in , their charity, the Clinton Foundation, served as the conduit for hundreds of millions of dollars that flowed from foreign sources at the same time Hillary appeared to have exerted influence on their behalf. At the same time, Bill pocketed tens of millions for speaking engagements overseas, many of them connected to his wifes work.

The improper use of Clintons surreptitious server stands in stark contrast to the promises she made before taking office. While campaigning for president in 2008, Clinton had promised complete transparency and vowed to fulfill all FOIA requests. In retrospect, her public assurances were nothing more than a carefully crafted deception. Her private server afforded her a clever and clandestine way to evade the public disclosure of her communications and to hide her self-serving deals.