Gabbard stated the report found Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to “undermine faith in the U.S. democratic process, not show preference of a certain candidate.” She added, “In fact, this report shows Putin held back leaking…compromising material on Hillary Clinton prior to the election, instead planning to release it after the election to weaken what Moscow viewed as an inevitable Clinton presidency.”
According to the report, the CIA “did not adhere to the tenets” of analytic standards, and its conclusion that Putin sought to benefit Donald Trump was based on “one scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports.” Gabbard asserted the findings were especially damaging for former President Barack Obama and top intelligence officials including John Brennan, James Comey, and James Clapper.
The release has been sharply criticised by Democrats, who point to previous bipartisan findings. “Nothing in this partisan, previously scuttled document changes that,” said Senator Mark Warner, adding, “Releasing this so-called report is just another reckless act by a Director of National Intelligence so desperate to please Donald Trump.”
Gabbard claimed Obama was directly involved in shaping the intelligence narrative and stated, “The evidence that we have found and that we have released directly points to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment.” She confirmed her office would continue referring documents to the Department of Justice and FBI to investigate possible criminal implications.
Responding to the allegations, Obama’s spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said, “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” He called the claims “outrageous” and defended the office’s usual policy of not responding to “nonsense and misinformation.”
Gabbard and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to specify potential criminal charges against Obama or address the statute of limitations. “I’m leaving the criminal charges to the DOJ. I’m not an attorney,” Gabbard said, despite having earlier called the Obama administration’s actions a “treasonous conspiracy.”
Leavitt reiterated the administration’s push for accountability, saying, “The president has made it clear that he wanted these documents to be declassified… now he wants those who perpetuated these lies and this scandal to be held accountable.” She stressed that further decisions rest with the Department of Justice.
Critics also questioned the role of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was part of the Senate Intelligence Committee that supported earlier conclusions contradicting the new claims. Leavitt avoided direct comment but pointed to Rubio’s 2020 statement describing both Russian meddling and FBI actions as “troubling.”
When asked whether the release of the report was intended to regain Trump’s favour following his recent criticism of Gabbard, Leavitt dismissed the suggestion. “The only people who are suggesting that…are the people in this room who constantly try to sow distrust and chaos among the president’s Cabinet,” she said.
Gabbard faced further scrutiny over whether she was contributing to the politicisation of intelligence by making strong accusations against former officials. She rejected the criticism, saying, “That’s a very disrespectful attack on the American people who deserve the truth.”
In defending her actions, Gabbard argued the criticism was an attempt to shift focus away from the alleged misconduct. “They are doing a disservice to the American people in trying to deflect away from their culpability in what is a historic scandal,” she concluded.
Source: The Hill.
