National Intelligence Director on Obama Investigation

On Wednesday, National Intelligence Director Tarshi Gabbard suggested that former President Barack Obama might have been introduced to the Justice Department concerning a criminal investigation, although she didn’t touch on any constitutional concerns related to the prosecutors.

During a briefing with reporters at the White House, Gabbard shared insights from previously classified documents released on Friday and Monday. These documents indicated that the Obama administration had dismissed an intelligence report stating that Russia’s interference in the 2016 election was not significant, instead producing a new assessment that contradicted that conclusion.

When Town Hall reporter Katie Publich inquired about whether this new information implicated Obama in any criminal behavior, Gabbard responded, “We will continue to introduce all these documents and refer them to the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the criminal consequences of this.”

She further stated, “The evidence we’ve gathered specifically points to President Obama as a key figure in this information assessment. There’s multiple intelligence sources backing this up.”

However, neither Gabbard nor White House spokesperson Karolinen Leavitt addressed potential constitutional issues related to such investigations. When asked about a Supreme Court decision from the previous year, in which the court concluded that the president couldn’t be charged for actions taken under constitutional authority, Leavitt indicated that it would be up to the Department of Justice to make such determinations.

Gabbard also commented that, when questioned about her previous claims regarding Obama’s actions being “rebellious,” she noted that she is not a lawyer and would defer to the expertise of the DOJ on the matter.