On Friday, the Director of National Intelligence, Tarshi Gabbard, issued a report claiming that individuals in the Obama administration manipulated the 2016 elections in connection with Russian interference.
In her statement, Gabbard described the situation as an “unpleasant conspiracy” and indicated that her office has forwarded evidence to the Department of Justice for potential criminal referrals.
“The data we are presenting today clearly indicates there was a conspiracy executed by top-level government staff in 2016,” Gabbard remarked. “Their intention was to undermine the will of the American public and effectively orchestrate a long-standing coup.”
The memo points to key figures like former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former FBI Director Jim Comey.
For a long time, President Trump has been vocal about wanting an investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election. He often described any suggested collaboration between his campaign and Moscow as a “horror” and targeted officials, including Brennan and Comey.
In March, Trump signed a memo demanding the declassification of “all files related to Crossfire Hurricane,” which pertained to the FBI’s inquiries into Russian meddling in 2016.
The intelligence agency that Gabbard currently oversees has consistently concluded that Russia attempted to influence the 2016 elections.
This includes a comprehensive three-year bipartisan Senate investigation that affirmed Russia’s active role in undermining Trump’s efforts in the election, notably through a broad social media campaign.
Gabbard emphasized, along with other documents, that there is no evidence of direct manipulation of actual vote counts by Russia.
However, this perspective does not clash with the findings from the Intelligence Community or the Senate report. They established that there was “no evidence that the vote had been altered or that voting machines were compromised.” The Obama administration maintained that no evidence had surfaced indicating that hackers tampered with the results.
Gabbard’s release also highlighted issues surrounding the scrutiny of the Jeffrey Epstein case, indicating tensions within the Trump administration.
“It’s just another day, and since Donald Trump desperately wants to divert attention, Gabbard is revisiting an unfounded claim from a decade ago about the Obama administration,” said one critic. They emphasized that the warnings from the 2016 Intelligence Community about election interference have been thoroughly investigated.
“All legitimate inquiries, including the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee investigation, found no signs of politicization and validated the outcomes of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment.”
Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also criticized Gabbard.
“DNI Gabbard seems oblivious to the long-established research on Russia, which the Senate Intelligence Committee reconfirmed surrounding the 2016 elections, asserting that ‘the Russian government directed extensive activity against US election infrastructure’ and used social media for information warfare to favor Donald Trump,” he noted in a statement.
Gabbard’s allegations surfaced shortly after reports indicated that she had fallen out of favor with Trump concerning intelligence updates related to Iran’s nuclear program.
Moreover, on the same day, the Department of Justice began releasing some evidence from the Epstein case, including testimonies from the Grand Jury.
Gabbard’s actions appear to stem not just from the fallout of the Epstein saga but also following reports of her unfavorable standing regarding intelligence news linking Trump to Iran.
Her release underlines that the inquiry into the origins of Russian investigations remains static nearly a decade later, while also spotlighting Steele’s documents, which contain questionable allegations about Trump’s connections to Russia.
Gabbard garnered some support from GOP figures following her report.
“Dismantle the Deep State!” tweeted Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
“The Russian hoax is a political attack orchestrated by Obama officials designed to undermine President Trump using intelligence agencies as weapons. Accountability has been long overdue!”
On the other hand, some Democrats accuse Gabbard of distorting intelligence to align with political needs.
Warner remarked that Gabbard, who previously sought a pardon for leaker Edward Snowden—who disclosed thousands of NSA documents revealing vast American communication data—is now misusing her role to further the president’s election conspiracy theories.
“It’s alarming to see DNI Gabbard label a supposed ‘unpleasant plot’ without branding Edward Snowden a traitor,” Warner stated.
Updated at 6:33pm
