The Justice Department (DOJ) has established a “strike force” aimed at probing allegations stemming from former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard concerning the involvement of former President Obama and his top intelligence officials in framing the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. This initiative follows the release of declassified records by Gabbard, which claim that the Obama administration fabricated intelligence to suggest that then-candidate Donald Trump was colluding with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. DOJ officials have emphasized their determination to fully explore these claims, indicating that all avenues of inquiry will be pursued, particularly through its National Security Division.
Recent developments, including a criminal referral from CIA Director John Ratcliffe regarding former CIA Director John Brennan, have added urgency to these investigations. The referral is based on a declassified review of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), which asserted that Russia attempted to aid Trump’s presidential campaign. The review indicated procedural irregularities and a departure from intelligence standards during the ICA’s creation, particularly regarding the controversial Steele Dossier, which has been widely discredited as politically motivated. This dossier, commissioned by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, raised serious questions about the integrity of the assessments made by intelligence officials at the time.
Gabbard’s recent disclosures have revealed substantial evidence suggesting that senior Obama officials worked to distort intelligence following Trump’s election victory, setting the stage for the prolonged Trump-Russia investigation. These officials, including Obama, Clapper, Brennan, and others, were identified as having “manufactured and politicized” intelligence to perpetuate a narrative lacking substantial evidence. Gabbard submitted a criminal referral to the DOJ based on her findings, further igniting the investigation into these allegations of misconduct.
The records declassified by Gabbard indicate that intelligence assessments at the time lacked empirical evidence to support claims of Russian interference orchestrated by Putin to benefit Trump’s campaign. Instead, they showed that, under Obama’s direction, potentially biased conclusions were presented to the public, contradicting earlier intelligence insights. This release adds to a previous report from the House Intelligence Committee that had remained classified, suggesting a calculated effort by Obama-era officials to promote a narrative they knew was not substantiated by hard evidence.
Testimonies from various Obama administration officials during closed-door sessions revealed a lack of evidence to substantiate claims of collusion, despite their public assertions to the contrary. For instance, both Clapper and Lynch testified that they had not seen direct evidence tying the Trump campaign to Russian interference. These contradictions align with the findings of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which ultimately found no coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russia, despite extensive inquiries into the matter.
In response to Gabbard’s revelations and the ongoing investigations, former President Obama’s office maintained a stance of denial, labeling the allegations as unfounded distractions. A spokesman affirmed that existing conclusions about Russian interference remain intact, bolstered by findings from a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report. However, the formation of the DOJ’s strike force signifies a serious commitment to revisiting these issues, and the implications of this inquiry may extend to high-ranking officials from the preceding administration, potentially reshaping the narrative surrounding one of the most contentious political episodes in recent U.S. history.
