The Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, decided not to release the President’s Daily Briefing (PBD) from December 2016. In the information shared by Daily Caller, it indicated that Russia had not interfered with the election.
On Friday, Gabbard made the document public, presenting it as evidence that former President Barack Obama and his national security team “manufactured and politicized intelligence” after his victory in 2016.
DNI Tulsi Gabbard informs me that the Obama administration opted not to disclose their December 2016 daily briefing.
Trump was receiving the same daily briefing as… pic.twitter.com/2ug87un0mf
– Reagan Reese (@Reaganreese_) July 23, 2025
The documents imply that the Obama administration chose to withhold the PBD draft from December 7, 2016, which mentioned that “foreign adversaries utilized cyberattacks on election infrastructure, but did not alter the outcome of the US presidential election.” An ODNI report stated that the briefing draft was “killed” due to “new guidance.”
Gabbard did not have specifics on what this “new guidance” entailed, but she suggested that the information was likely kept from Trump.
“There is no document directly stating what the ‘new guidance’ was that led to the pulling of that document. It only became available last Friday,” Gabbard noted.
“We can assume that President Trump is not in favor of seeing documents from the Intelligence community that contradict the narrative of the Russian hoax, which originated with the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Steele dossier,” she added.
Trump received his first PDB on November 15, 2016, according to reports from CNN.
At a press conference, Gabbard mentioned that she has submitted information regarding “crime referrals” to the Department of Justice. Trump had previously stated that Obama was “guilty” during a press conference in the Oval Office.
When questioned about whether the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity might extend to protect Obama from prosecution, Leavitt replied, noting Trump had called for accountability for all those who allegedly perpetrated fraud against the nation.
“Everyone just ran with lies that led to a division in our country. Unfortunately, many Americans, influenced by the media outlets present here, fell for these lies. It was a complete scam and a scandal, and the president seeks accountability,” Leavitt said.
Daily Caller White House correspondent @Reaganreese_: “The president claimed yesterday that Obama committed treason. Does the White House believe that the Supreme Court’s immunity decision protects Obama from prosecution?”
Leavitt: “He [Pres. Trump] wants to meet everyone… pic.twitter.com/1bgz12hig3
– Daily Caller (@dailycaller) July 23, 2025
