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A Clinton ‘scandal’ led to Trump-Russia probe, investigative journalist John Solomon tells to ‘Pod Force One’

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Cite

Nava, V. (2026, September 30). A Clinton ‘scandal’ led to Trump-Russia probe, investigative journalist John Solomon tells to ‘Pod Force One’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/us-news/a-clinton-scandal-led-to-trump-russia-probe-john-solomon/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-30 · by Victor Nava

Quick Summary

Veteran journalist John Solomon claims in an interview with Miranda Devine on "Pod Force One" that a 2015 poll during Hillary Clinton's campaign revealed Russian relations as her most significant political vulnerability. This prompted her team to initiate opposition research against Donald Trump, which eventually led to the Russia collusion investigation. According to Solomon, this series of events began in November/December 2015 and marked the start of a decade-long cycle of Democratic-led investigations into Trump's alleged ties with Russia.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In November/December 2015, Hillary Clinton conducted a poll during her presidential campaign to identify her most significant political weakness. Investigative journalist John Solomon claims that this poll revealed voter concern over the Uranium One deal, which led to Clinton trying to neutralize it. According to Solomon, this move indirectly triggered the subsequent FBI investigation into alleged Russian collusion with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Solomon argues that this marked the beginning of a decade-long series of federal investigations primarily targeting Trump and associated with Democrats.

Written for “Clinton Scandal Leads To Inquiry” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Clinton Scandal Leads To Inquiry
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 18 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles discuss different topics related to Clinton and Trump but do not describe the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
2 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15411 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Victor Nava
66 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Victor Nava
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 66 articles by Victor Nava →

Topics

Fusion GPS Just the News Russia Uranium One state

Subjects

Solomon PERSON · 7× Trump PERSON · 6× Russia GPE · 5× Clinton PERSON · 4× Hillary Clinton PERSON · 4× Hillary PERSON · 2× Hillary Clinton’s PERSON · 2× Just the News ORG · 2× Miranda Devine PERSON · 2× state ORG · 2×

Narrative

Solomon, the founder of Just the News and the head of a Trump administration task force on government transparency, argued that polling data presented to the former secretary of state amid her White House run, and her response to it, marked the start of a 10-year-long, Democrat-led, “wash, rinse, repeat cycle” of federal investigations against Trump.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 “And then the FBI begins its investigation into the insanity of what we now know as Russia collusion, which a lot of people would say is Russia delusion, basically consumes two and a half years of America’s political conscience.”

Claims (19 extracted, 2 hedged)

An attempt to “neutralize” one of Hillary Clinton’s biggest weaknesses during her 2016 presidential campaign ultimately triggered the Russia collusion probe into President Trump, veteran journalist John Solomon explained in the latest episode of “Pod Force One.” asserted
Solomon → neutralize → One
Solomon, the founder of Just the News and the head of a Trump administration task force on government transparency, argued that polling data presented to the former secretary of state amid her White House run, and her response to it, marked the start of a 10-year-long, Democrat-led, “wash, rinse, repeat cycle” of federal investigations against Trump. asserted
data → argue → Trump
“The origins of that wash, rinse, repeat cycle are in the November/December 2015 timeframe,” Solomon told “Pod Force One” host Miranda Devine. asserted
Solomon → wash → Devine
“It’s around that time … that Hillary Clinton does a poll and it takes all the scandals that have been in the Clinton world.” asserted
that → ’ → world
The former first lady and her husband, ex-President Bill Clinton, are no strangers to political scandals, and the poll was intended to shed light on which one voters were “most concerned about,” according to Solomon. uncertain
voters → intend → Solomon
But it wasn’t Whitewater, Bill’s affair with Monica Lewinsky and his subsequent impeachment, the 1996 China campaign fundraising controversy or even Hillary’s private email server scandal that Americans found most alarming, which left Hillary’s team “stunned.” asserted
which → find → team
“The one they’re most concerned about is Uranium One and the Clinton family’s relationship with Russia,” Solomon said. asserted
Solomon → ’re → Russia
The scandal revolved around “a $500,000 fee that Bill Clinton gets from Moscow to give a speech at a time when Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is giving a lot of favors back to Russia, including the ability to purchase American uranium, including a company called Uranium One, as well as utility contracts,” the Just the News founder explained. asserted
founder → revolve → company
“But the Clintons find in this poll … that that scandal was going to be the largest impediment to her election.” asserted
scandal → find → election
“It’s at that point,” Solomon continued, ”they decide to hang a Russian shingle on Donald Trump’s campaign house.” asserted
they → ’ → house
Perkins Coie, which represented Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign, retained the services of intelligence firm Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research against Trump in April 2016. asserted
which → represent → April
Former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele was subsequently hired by Fusion GPS to dig up dirt on Trump’s overseas business relationships – leading to the publication of the now-debunked Steele dossier. asserted
Steele → hire → dossier
In September 2016, former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann went to the FBI with since-debunked computer data that purportedly tied Trump and the Kremlin-linked Alfa Bank. asserted
that → go → Trump
Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington on ‘Pod Force One.’ asserted
Devine → sit → One
“They need to project their sins on Donald Trump, or whoever the Republican nominee is going to be,” Solomon said, arguing that the “goal” of the Kremlin collusion narrative was to “hang a fake Russian scandal on the Republicans to neutralize Hillary Clinton’s campaign.” asserted
goal → need → campaign
The Obama administration, including former President Barack Obama, were fully aware of Clinton’s “plan to foment a fake scandal against Donald Trump,” according to Solomon. uncertain
administration → include → Solomon
“They know about it. asserted
They → know → it
Even briefed the President of the United States, Barack Obama, at the time, and nobody stops it,” he fumed. asserted
he → brief → it
“And then the FBI begins its investigation into the insanity of what we now know as Russia collusion, which a lot of people would say is Russia delusion, basically consumes two and a half years of America’s political conscience.” asserted
lot → begin → conscience
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