On July 18, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a controversial report, alleging that senior officials from former President Barack Obama’s administration manipulated intelligence related to the 2016 presidential election.
Gabbard accused Obama and several former top national security officials of orchestrating a scheme to create the impression that Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 election was the result of Russian interference.
According to the intelligence chief, Obama and those implicated allegedly “fabricated inaccurate intelligence” to suggest that Russia had attempted to influence the election in favor of Trump over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Gabbard claimed this included using a dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele — a document they knew was unreliable.
Post-election intelligence assessments contradicted earlier conclusions, finding no evidence that Trump’s campaign had colluded with Russia to influence the election, despite widespread suspicions at the time.
In her statement, Gabbard called for the prosecution of those involved, accusing them of trying to prevent Trump from “fulfilling the mission entrusted to him by the American people.”
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, said she had submitted evidence to the Department of Justice. This included an Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) from the Obama administration on cyber threats to the 2016 election, along with a series of previously classified memos — including documents from the office of James Clapper, who served as Director of National Intelligence under Obama.
Clapper was among those Gabbard named as directly involved, along with several other senior Obama-era officials.
The Steele dossier was one of the catalysts for the lengthy investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into alleged Russian election interference.
Mueller’s final report ultimately stated that it “did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated” with the Russian government in its election-related activities.
The Obama camp has not yet issued a statement regarding these allegations.