Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has accused former President Barack Obama of orchestrating what she termed a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine President Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory through manipulated intelligence assessments about Russian interference.
During a White House briefing on July 23, 2025, Gabbard declassified a previously classified House Intelligence Committee report from September 2020 that she claims provides evidence of Obama administration wrongdoing. The National Intelligence Director alleged that Obama and his national security team directed the creation of intelligence assessments they knew contained false information.
Gabbard stated there was “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.” She contended that the Obama administration manufactured findings from unreliable sources to promote a narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election specifically to help Trump win the presidency.
The declassified House report, prepared by Republican staff members, challenges the intelligence community’s 2017 assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin preferred Trump over Hillary Clinton. The document argues that this conclusion was based on insufficient evidence and departed from standard intelligence analysis practices. The report particularly criticized the CIA’s reliance on what it described as one unclear and unverifiable intelligence fragment.
Among the key authors of the Republican House report was Kash Patel, who now serves as Trump’s FBI Director. The report was kept in highly secure conditions at CIA headquarters due to its sensitive nature, stored in what intelligence officials call a “turducken” – a safe within a safe.
Obama’s office responded through spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush, who dismissed the allegations as ridiculous and characterized them as a weak attempt at distraction. Rodenbush emphasized that nothing in the declassified documents undermines the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election, though it did not successfully manipulate vote counts.
The timing of Gabbard’s revelations coincides with mounting pressure on the Trump administration regarding the release of classified files related to deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein. Democratic lawmakers have suggested the Obama allegations serve as a distraction from the Epstein controversy, with several noting the administration’s reluctance to declassify Epstein-related documents while readily releasing materials targeting Obama.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the Democratic vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, criticized Gabbard’s decision to declassify the report. Warner argued that the release puts sensitive intelligence sources and methods at risk and sends a concerning message to allies about America’s ability to protect shared intelligence.
The declassified report contradicts findings from a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee investigation completed in 2020. That three-year probe, which involved more than 200 witnesses and reviewed over one million documents, supported the intelligence agencies’ assessment that Russia interfered to damage Clinton’s candidacy and boost Trump’s prospects. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who served as acting chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time, endorsed those findings along with every other committee member.
Multiple previous investigations have reached similar conclusions about Russian interference. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s two-year investigation found evidence of a Russian disinformation and hacking campaign designed to benefit Trump’s candidacy. Special counsel John Durham, appointed during Trump’s first term, found no evidence of criminal conspiracy among Obama administration officials regarding the Russia assessment and filed no charges against CIA officers involved.
Gabbard has referred Obama to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday evening that the Justice Department would create a strike force to assess Gabbard’s evidence and investigate possible legal action.
Former Obama Director of National Intelligence James Clapper rejected Gabbard’s allegations, calling them patently false and unfounded. Clapper noted inaccuracies in the Republican House report regarding statements attributed to him.
The controversy has elevated Gabbard’s standing within the Trump administration after her position appeared uncertain following disagreements over Iran’s nuclear capabilities in June. Trump publicly praised Gabbard’s work on the Obama documents during a recent White House event, describing her as generating significant attention for her revelations.
Intelligence experts and Democratic lawmakers maintain that the declassified documents do not provide evidence supporting claims of manufactured intelligence or criminal wrongdoing by Obama administration officials. They argue that while there may have been analytical debates within the intelligence community about confidence levels regarding specific assessments, this represents normal intelligence processes rather than deliberate deception.
