Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard overrode officials from the CIA and other intelligence agencies to release a “minimally redacted” version of declassified documents that shed light on the Obama administration’s fabricated Trump-Russia collusion narrative, sources told the Washington Post.
President Donald Trump reportedly gave Gabbard his blessing to publish a highly classified House Intelligence Committee report last month with the support of CIA Director John Ratcliffe and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, while sources said other members of the intelligence community warned that a greater portion of the files should have been redacted.
Gabbard said the 46-page House Intelligence report revealed additional details about the “most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history,” days after she released classified communications from top officials in the Obama administration laying the groundwork for what became the years-long Trump-Russia probe.
The DNI said at the time:
Per President @realDonaldTrump‘s directive, I have declassified a @HouseIntel oversight majority staff report that exposes how the Obama Administration manufactured the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment that they knew was false, promoting the LIE that Vladimir Putin and the Russian government helped President Trump win the 2016 election.
In doing so, they conspired to subvert the will of the American people, working with their partners in the media to promote the lie, in order to undermine the legitimacy of President Trump, essentially enacting a years-long coup against him.
Gabbard highlighted five key findings in the report, including that former CIA Director John Brennan and others allegedly “fabricated the Russia Hoax, suppressed intelligence showing Putin was preparing for a Clinton victory, manufactured findings from shoddy sources, disobeyed IC standards, and knowingly lied to the American people.”
A source familiar with the process told the Washington Post that the “CIA put forward their proposed redactions and edits to the document,” but Gabbard “has greater declassification authority than all other intelligence elements and is not required to get their approval prior to release.”
Trump himself approved the version “with minimal redactions and no edits,” the individual noted.
A CIA spokesperson said Ratcliffe “strongly supports” the release of the report despite knowing other members of his agency were against publishing so much — though it is unclear what exactly they wanted to remain secret.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the Democrats’ ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the declassification a “desperate and irresponsible” move in a statement to the outlet:
The desperate and irresponsible release of the partisan House Intelligence report puts at risk some of the most sensitive sources and methods our Intelligence Community uses to spy on Russia and keep Americans safe. And in doing so, Director Gabbard is sending a chilling message to our allies and assets around the world: the United States can no longer be trusted to protect the intelligence you share with us.
Former President Barack Obama led a “treasonous conspiracy” against Trump, Gabbard said following the declassification.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Congress may subpoena Obama for allegedly colluding with intelligence agencies to tie Trump to Russia during the 2016 election, saying, “I think we have a responsibility to follow the truth, where it leads.”
“He’s guilty,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “It’s not a question, you know, I like to say, ‘Let’s give it time.’ It’s there. He’s guilty… This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election.”
After Bondi referred the findings to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bondi announced the formation of a strike force tasked with investigating the hoax.
Obama’s office has dismissed the reports as “outrageous” and “bizarre.”
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