Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday declassified documents she claims prove intelligence officials in the Obama administration lied about Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. election.
The 44-page report, compiled by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, reviewed the process by which U.S. spy agencies under former President Barack Obama reached their conclusions. It was ordered in the wake of President Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Last week, Gabbard made public a separate batch of documents, which she said provided evidence that high-ranking intelligence officials under Obama had orchestrated a “years-long coup” aimed at weakening Trump. She added that they were guilty of a “treasonous conspiracy.”
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She intensified her accusations again on Wednesday.
The documents, she asserted during a surprise appearance at a White House press briefing, contain “‘irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false.’"
Gabbard faced probing questions during the briefing regarding her decision to declassify documents related to the so-called "Russia hoax" during the Obama administration.
When pressed by a reporter about why Trump waited until last Friday to release documentation, Gabbard responded simply: “I can’t speak to what happened there.”
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Reacting sharply to her remarks on the social platform X, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D‑Fla.) said: "If true (BIG IF) then the people who worked for President Trump in the first administration obstructed a treasonous conspiracy investigation. They should also be referred to the DOJ. The DNI should Release those Trump officials names."
Democrats have called for accountability related to the intelligence community’s involvement in the Russian interference investigation, and now an intensified focus on whether the Trump administration withheld declassified records for political reasons.