Gabbard Accuses 'Deep State' of Hiding Trump-Russia Info

Tulsi Gabbard Accuses Obama Administration of Politicizing Intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard, a former U.S. congresswoman and current director of national intelligence, has intensified her claims that officials in the Obama administration manipulated intelligence to create a narrative against President Donald Trump following his 2016 election victory. During an appearance on "Jesse Watters Primetime," Gabbard asserted that there were "deep state obstacles" preventing the release of information related to the Trump-Russia collusion investigation. She argued that some individuals within the intelligence community (IC) did not want this information to come to light.

Gabbard emphasized that both President Trump and herself are committed to uncovering the truth. She expressed support for Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice's decision to form a strike force team aimed at investigating the intelligence and evidence gathered. This initiative, she said, is critical in determining the path forward for accountability.

In a recent viral post on X, Gabbard claimed that former President Barack Obama and key members of his national security team, including then-CIA Director John Brennan and then-DNI James Clapper, fabricated a narrative about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election to "subvert" Trump’s presidency. She released over 100 declassified documents that highlight the intelligence community’s assessments before and after the election regarding potential Russian influence.

Gabbard pointed out that prior to the 2016 election, the Intelligence Community had a consensus view that Russia lacked the intent and capability to hack U.S. elections. However, she alleged that this changed significantly after Trump's historic win against Hillary Clinton. According to her, Obama directed the IC to produce a new assessment detailing Russian election meddling, despite conflicting previous findings.

An Obama spokesperson responded to Gabbard’s allegations, calling them "outrageous" and "bizarre." The spokesperson stated that nothing in the documents undermines the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 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.

Ned Price, a former Obama NSC official, also criticized Gabbard’s claims in a Fox News op-ed, arguing that she is attempting to overturn established facts with conspiratorial fiction. He pointed out that Gabbard conflated the terms "hack" and "influence." A 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report, supported by then-Sen. Marco Rubio, found that Russia did not "hack" election infrastructure such as changing votes or manipulating voting machines. However, it concluded that the Russian government worked to undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions and voting processes.

Rubio, now the Secretary of State, noted that the committee’s investigation did not find evidence of collusion between Trump and the Russian government. Despite this, he highlighted the troubling nature of the findings, stating that the committee found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling. He criticized the FBI for relying on the now-discredited Steele dossier and emphasized the role of WikiLeaks in the Russian influence campaign.

Gabbard, who has sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice over the declassified documents, told Fox News host Jesse Watters that she will continue to pursue accountability for the American people. Trump has accused Obama of "treason" following Gabbard’s revelations and recently shared a video on his Truth Social account that appeared to be generated with AI, showing the 44th president being arrested in the Oval Office.