New Emails Shed Light on 2016 Election Interference
Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, has published more “Top Secret” emails from 2016. These emails show former DNI James Clapper’s efforts to suppress warnings regarding a politically charged initiative aimed at undermining the 2016 presidential election by inaccurately connecting President Donald Trump to Russian collusion.
The exchanges included then-National Security Agency (NSA) Director Mike Rogers, then-FBI Director James Comey, and then-CIA Director John Brennan.
In the declassified emails, Rogers expressed serious concerns to Clapper, Comey, and Brennan about the Intelligence Community’s assessment of supposed Russian interference. He mentioned that his team did not have enough access to the required intelligence and felt they didn’t have sufficient time to review it properly. This made them hesitant to back the conclusions made.
Hours before the authors were set to present the draft to intelligence leaders, Clapper stated that additional time was “not negotiable.”
“We may have to compromise on our ‘normal’ modalities, since we must do this on such a compressed schedule,” Clapper remarked.
He urged the recipients to unify in support of an unverified report.
“That’s OUR story, and we’re stickin’ to it,” was Clapper’s mantra for them. He added, “This is one project that has to be a team sport.”
Gabbard’s office revealed the emails in a statement released on Wednesday.
“The leading figures in the Russia Hoax have spent years deceiving the American public by presenting their manufactured and politicized assessments as credible intelligence. The email released today reinforces what we already exposed: the decision to compromise standards and violate protocols in creating the 2017 intelligence assessment was intentional and came from the very top,” Gabbard said. “Clapper’s own words confirm that complying with the order to manufacture intelligence was a ‘team sport.’”
This marks the latest disclosure relating to the DNI’s investigation into the so-called “Russiagate” scandal.
Last month, Gabbard released over 100 documents that she claims provide significant evidence implicating Obama-era officials in a conspiracy to falsely accuse Trump of colluding with Russia during the election.
At the time, the former president had taken to social media, asserting that the claims against him were completely unfounded and politically motivated. He dismissed them as a deliberate hoax aimed at undercutting him.
“Obama himself manufactured the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. Crooked Hillary, Sleepy Joe, and numerous others participated in this, THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY! Irrefutable EVIDENCE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
On Thursday, the House Intelligence Committee also commented on the newly revealed findings.
“The Russia hoax will go down in U.S. history as one of the most corrupt moments our nation has experienced. It tore the country apart, and to this day, our country is more polarized than ever because of it. There are still people who passionately believe it to be true. There must be accountability. We commend Gabbard on her continued transparency with the American people. Sometimes sunshine is the best disinfectant.”
