New Documents Suggest Obama Administration Knew of No Russian Influence on 2016 Election
WASHINGTON – Newly released documents by the Trump administration reveal that the Obama administration was aware that Russia had no effect on the election results through cyberattacks, particularly around the 2016 election.
Tulsi Gabbard, the National Intelligence Director, has published over 100 pages of emails, memos, and other records that detail what officials from the Obama administration have termed “The Conspiracy to Destroy the 2016 Wins.”
In these documents, dated September 12, 2016, an assessment from the Intelligence Community noted that foreign adversaries lacked the capability to conduct widespread, undetected cyberattacks on the electoral infrastructure.
On December 7, 2016, James Clapper’s office concluded that “foreign enemies did not employ cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the outcome of the US presidential election,” adding that there was “no evidence of cyberoperations targeting election infrastructure aimed at changing the results.”
However, these conclusions were seemingly downplayed by Clapper and others who alleged that the Kremlin had orchestrated the hacking of the Democratic National Committee. This data was subsequently leaked by WikiLeaks and it played a role in favoring Trump during the presidential race.
In a related meeting on December 9, 2016, top officials, including CIA director John Brennan and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, gathered at the White House, where Obama began to deliberate on “Russian election interference.”
The 44th President subsequently ordered further assessments from the CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS, and by early January, he had requested detailed information concerning Russia’s actions in relation to the US presidential election.
