Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard doubled down during a White House press briefing Wednesday, accusing the Obama administration of pushing a “manufactured narrative” about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“There is 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 said. “They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true it wasn’t.”
Gabbard’s remarks follow the declassification of a trove of U.S. intelligence documents that allege the Obama administration politicized intelligence and that agencies lacked direct evidence showing Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to help elect Trump in 2016.
“All come back to and confirm the same report: There was a gross politicization and manipulation of intelligence by the Obama administration intended to delegitimize President Trump even before he was inaugurated, ultimately usurping the will of the American people,” Gabbard added Wednesday at a White House press briefing.
Gabbard also stated that the declassified documents have been forwarded to the Department of Justice and the FBI for review to determine whether the materials warrant any criminal investigation.
“We have referred and will continue to refer all of these documents to the Department of Justice and the FBI, to investigate the criminal implications of this for the evidence,” Gabbard said in response to a question from a reporter.
“Correct. The evidence that we have found, and that we have released, directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment. There are multiple pieces of evidence and intelligence that confirm that fact,” she added. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of being the “ringleader” behind the investigations into alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
