Tulsi Gabbard has declassified over 100 intelligence documents, accusing President Obama and top officials of politicizing intelligence to undermine Trump’s presidency.
She calls for investigations and accountability for those involved.
Former Congresswoman and current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has publicly declassified and released over 100 intelligence documents, alleging that former President Barack Obama and his top national security officials orchestrated a deliberate effort to politicize intelligence and undermine the Trump presidency following the 2016 election.
Appearing on Fox News with host Sean Hannity, Gabbard described the newly released files as evidence of what she characterized as a “manufactured intelligence operation” designed to challenge Donald Trump’s legitimacy after his surprise victory over Hillary Clinton. The documents, she said, reveal how career intelligence officials’ original findings indicating that Russia lacked both the intent and capability to influence the outcome of the 2016 election were ultimately overridden by political leadership in the Obama administration.
Gabbard said the documents detail a timeline in which former President Obama, along with senior officials like former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, and then-National Security Adviser Susan Rice, redirected U.S. intelligence efforts toward producing a report that would frame Russia as a key actor in undermining the American democratic process.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Gabbard said. “It’s about the integrity of our democratic republic. The evidence shows that President Obama and his senior-most security officials intentionally created a politicized narrative to subvert the will of the American people.”
She further alleged that the intelligence community’s early assessments, which concluded that Russia did not engage in any operation to alter the election’s outcome, were removed from circulation and replaced with a report shaped by political objectives. Gabbard claimed that President Obama personally instructed intelligence leaders to draft a report that assumed Russian interference as fact, even before the evidence was evaluated.
The December 2016 Meetings
Central to Gabbard’s revelations is a series of meetings that took place in early December 2016. One particular meeting, held on December 9, reportedly saw President Obama directing his intelligence chiefs to compile a report proving how, rather than if, Russia had interfered in the election.
According to declassified documents, a President’s Daily Brief (PDB) drafted in early December 2016 concluded that Russia neither had the intention nor the means to influence the election. However, that assessment was allegedly pulled from distribution. The following day, President Obama convened a National Security Council meeting to discuss Russian interference in the election.
Gabbard claims that the summary of conclusions from that NSC meeting shows President Obama instructing James Clapper to lead the creation of a final intelligence assessment, which eventually supported claims of Russian involvement. That report would later underpin a series of investigations into Trump and his associates, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s nearly two-year probe.
The Role of the Steele Dossier
Gabbard also pointed to the controversial Steele dossier funded in part by Hillary Clinton’s campaign as a critical component of the intelligence assessment created under President Obama’s directive. According to her, senior officials, including Brennan, Clapper, and Comey, knew intelligence professionals discredited the dossier, yet pushed to have it included in the January 2017 intelligence report.
“There were professionals who were told to include the Steele dossier in the January assessment,” Gabbard said. “They protested to John Brennan and others, saying this is not credible.”
The Steele dossier was also reportedly used to secure four Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants against Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Critics of the FISA process have argued that these warrants enabled surveillance of the Trump campaign and transition team under false pretenses.
The fallout from the intelligence assessments and subsequent investigations was immense. The Mueller probe, which concluded in 2019, found insufficient evidence to charge Trump with conspiring with Russia, although it documented extensive contacts between Trump’s team and Russian individuals. It cost taxpayers nearly $40 million and dominated political discourse throughout Trump’s first term.
In addition to the Mueller report, the Russia investigation spurred multiple congressional probes, impeachment-related discussions, and criminal charges against several Trump associates, including Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort.
Gabbard argued that the consequences went beyond political damage to Trump and his allies. “We saw increased tensions between the United States and Russia, massive media smear campaigns, and a deep erosion of trust in our institutions,” she said.
Gabbard confirmed that she has referred all relevant documents to the Department of Justice, calling for not just investigations but prosecutions if wrongdoing is confirmed.
“This was not just an abuse of intelligence,” she said. “This was an attempt to reverse the will of the American people. Accountability must happen not for political retribution, but to protect the foundations of our democracy.”
The Justice Department has not publicly responded to Gabbard’s referral as of the time of publication.
Reactions to the revelations have been swift and divided. Supporters of Trump have seized on the documents as vindication, calling for criminal charges against key Obama-era officials. Critics argue that Gabbard’s interpretation of the documents is politically motivated and lacks broader context.
The Biden administration has not yet responded to the declassification.
As the national debate over the integrity of U.S. elections and intelligence transparency continues, Gabbard maintains that only full accountability can prevent future abuses.
“This is about preserving our republic,” she said. “We cannot allow the intelligence apparatus to be weaponized for political purposes ever again.”
