Tulsi Gabbard Unveils New Docs Accusing Obama of 2016 Poll Manipulation

The Controversy Over Intelligence Weaponization

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, recently released a series of documents that she claims reveal how members of the Obama administration weaponized U.S. intelligence. According to Gabbard, these actions were aimed at undermining the legitimacy of former President Donald Trump.

In a post on X, Gabbard stated, "New evidence has emerged of the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history." She added that this evidence was declassified at the direction of President Trump and highlights how the Obama administration allegedly manufactured the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. This assessment, which claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government helped Trump win the 2016 election, was known to be false, according to Gabbard.

She further accused the Obama administration of conspiring to subvert the will of the American people, working with media partners to promote this lie. Gabbard suggested that this effort was essentially a years-long coup against Trump.

Response from the Obama Administration

In response to Gabbard’s claims, the Obama administration issued a rare statement. A spokesperson for the administration, Patrick Rodenbush, said, "Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one."

Rodenbush described the allegations as "ridiculous" and a weak attempt at distraction. He emphasized that nothing in the document undermines the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. This conclusion was reaffirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.

Ongoing Debate and Evidence

Despite the claims made by Gabbard, there is no evidence that the 2020 election was rigged. However, there is substantial evidence that Trump attempted to subvert the results. Additionally, concerns about inflation remain unresolved, especially if Trump's tariffs are implemented.

Gabbard also made strong statements about former officials, claiming that she had "caught" Hillary Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama, along with others under them, including Susan Rice. She suggested that these individuals had hidden information in classified documents, believing it would never be seen again. However, she argued that this approach did not work.

Analysis of the Document

According to the New York Times, the document in question was a report initially drafted by the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 when Republicans held the majority. The report questioned the conclusion reached in December 2016 that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had favored Trump.

Kash Patel, now the FBI director under Trump, was a key author of the report released on Wednesday, as reported by officials. Only Republican members of the committee participated in drafting the 2017 report and its revisions in 2020.

The House report concluded that most of the judgments made by the intelligence community in 2016 were sound. However, it argued that the work was rushed, a point also noted in a recent tradecraft analysis by the CIA. The assessment that Putin had favored Trump did not meet the "professional criteria" of other findings, according to the report.