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Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard released newly declassified documents July 18, which she says reveal that top Obama-era intelligence officials manipulated assessments about Russian election interference to discredit President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory.
She has submitted the documents to the Department of Justice for criminal referral.
“Americans will finally learn the truth about how in 2016,” Gabbard wrote on X, “intelligence was politicized and weaponized by the most powerful people in the Obama Administration to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Donald Trump, subverting the will of the American people and undermining our democratic republic.”
According to the documents, the Intelligence Community (IC) repeatedly assessed in 2016 that Russia lacked both the intent and capability to alter US election outcomes — only to reverse course ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
A September 2016 IC report concluded that “foreign adversaries do not have and will probably not obtain the capabilities to successfully execute widespread and undetected cyber attacks” on US election infrastructure.
That view remained consistent after the election.
Talking points prepared for then-DNI James Clapper on Dec. 7, 2016, stated: “Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the US Presidential election outcome.”
However, two days later, CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey, and other top intelligence officials met at the Obama White House to discuss Russia’s alleged involvement.
According to this week’s new DNI Office press release, former President Barack Obama then directed the IC to produce a new assessment on Russian election activity, which would ultimately contradict earlier findings.
At the same time, false IC statements were leaked to outlets like The Washington Post, claiming that Russia “attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election,” according to the press release.
“Obama officials immediately leaned on their allies in the media to advance their falsehoods,” Gabbard said on X.
On January 6, 2017 — just weeks before Trump’s inauguration — the IC released a new report to the public that implied Russia helped Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.
“For months preceding the 2016 election, the Intelligence Community shared a consensus view: Russia lacked the intent and capability to hack U.S. elections,” Gabbard wrote. “But weeks after President Trump’s historic 2016 victory defeating Hillary Clinton, everything changed.”
She said her office is turning over all documents to the Department of Justice “to deliver the accountability that President Trump, his family, and the American people deserve.”
“This betrayal concerns every American,” Gabbard stated on X. “The integrity of our democratic republic demands that every person involved be investigated and brought to justice to prevent this from ever happening again.”
