Gabbard Alleges Obama Led Effort to Promote False Russia Collusion Narrative
- The New York Editorial Desk - Arif
- Jul 23
- 3 min read
Tone & Political Bias: Strongly Right-Leaning
Why: The article amplifies claims from Tulsi Gabbard and President Trump, challenges the integrity of the Obama administration, and questions prior intelligence community findings without including equivalent weight from opposing perspectives.
Gabbard: Obama Admin Created False Russia Interference Report
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard alleged at a White House press briefing Wednesday that former President Barack Obama and senior officials in his administration knowingly pushed a false intelligence narrative about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
“There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false,” Gabbard said.
She added that the narrative was used to suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered in the election to help Donald Trump win. Gabbard asserted that this narrative was knowingly presented to the public as fact, despite internal doubts.
Documents Declassified: No Direct Intel on Putin's Intent
Gabbard’s claims come as a new batch of U.S. intelligence documents has been declassified. These documents suggest that:
The intelligence community had no direct evidence that Putin sought to assist Trump.
The Obama administration allegedly politicized and manipulated intelligence reports.
The 2016 assessment on Russian election interference may have been shaped to delegitimize Trump’s presidency.
Gabbard described the findings as consistent across several documents, stating they “confirm the same report: There was a gross politicization and manipulation of intelligence by the Obama administration.”
Criminal Referrals Sent to DOJ, FBI
Gabbard also announced that the documents have been submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI for potential criminal investigation. She said the evidence directly implicates former President Obama in orchestrating the intelligence narrative.
“We have referred and will continue to refer all of these documents... to investigate the criminal implications,” Gabbard said.
She did not disclose which individuals are the subject of the referrals, but confirmed that they name key Obama-era officials.
Officials Named in the Declassified Files
The newly released documents reportedly identify the following former Obama administration figures:
James Clapper (Director of National Intelligence)
John Brennan (CIA Director)
Susan Rice (National Security Advisor)
John Kerry (Secretary of State)
Loretta Lynch (Attorney General)
Andrew McCabe (Deputy FBI Director)
These individuals, according to the documents, were involved in creating or advancing the Russia-Trump collusion narrative.
Trump: Obama Was the "Ringleader"
President Trump weighed in Tuesday, accusing Obama of being the "ringleader" of investigations into possible Trump-Russia collusion during the 2016 campaign. Trump’s comments aligned with Gabbard’s claims, and both statements mark a renewed push by the Trump-aligned political sphere to challenge the legitimacy of the 2016 election interference narrative.
Obama Office Responds: “Bizarre Allegations”
A spokesperson for former President Obama, Patrick Rodenbush, responded to the allegations with a sharply worded statement.
“These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” Rodenbush said.
He added that the documents do not change the conclusions reached by past investigations, including a 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report chaired by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, which found Russia did try to influence the 2016 election.
“Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,” Rodenbush stated.
Background: House Intelligence Report Raised Concerns
Gabbard also referenced a 2020 report by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which she released just prior to the press briefing.
According to Gabbard, the report raised concerns that:
Intelligence reports suggesting Putin favored Trump were “potentially biased.”
Those reports were produced under “unusual” orders from President Obama.
The assessments lacked credible sourcing or consistency with typical intelligence standards.
The Justice Department has not yet commented on the criminal referrals. Fox News Digital confirmed it had previously reported on Gabbard’s criminal referral submission, but no targets have been publicly identified.
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