Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard hit back at former President Barack Obama after he dismissed her claim that his administration cooked up intelligence on Russian election interference in a “treasonous conspiracy” against President Donald Trump.
On July 17, Gabbard released a report alleging that Obama and his top national security officials conspired to “manipulate” intelligence to link Trump to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, calling for him and other officials to be prosecuted. Through a spokesperson, Obama issued a rare response dismissing her claims as “a weak attempt at distraction” from the Jeffrey Epstein story.
Gabbard went on the offensive on Fox & Friends.
“President Obama’s very carefully worded response that came from his office, again, deflects away from addressing any of the truth that was revealed,” Gabbard said Saturday. “They would have to admit and actually address the details of their complicity in this or their absolute failure in conducting the most basic responsibilities of, again, asking, where is this intelligence coming from?”
Gabbard’s allegations come as the president’s supporters have revolted over a July 6 report from the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) finding that discraced financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019, rather than being murdered, and that no “client list” of wealthy co-conspirators exists—conspiracies Trump has promoted and now fallen victim to.
Obama’s spokesperson, Patrick Rodenbush, said last week that the claims represented the “constant nonsense and misinformation” that stemmed from the Trump administration.
“The bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. 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,” he said. “These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”
Rodenbush declined to comment on Gabbard’s latest retort.
Gabbard has described the Obama administration’s intelligence findings as “seditious” and “treasonous,” releasing documents that she said prove Russia did not interfere with the 2016 election and that Obama officials relied too heavily on a dossier outlining Trump’s ties to Russia.
The Obama administration—and the first Trump administration—did not claim Russia changed any votes in 2016 but instead launched an influence campaign designed to sway voters to support Trump.
Still, Gabbard has urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate and charge government officials such as former FBI Director James Comey, former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, and Obama himself.
Trump has urged reporters to investigate Gabbard’s claims and amplified the case on Truth Social, sharing a nearly nine-minute segment on Saturday from Mark Levin’s Fox News show that attacked Obama.
Meanwhile, as the Epstein saga continued to consume his administration, Trump has deflected questions and told reporters on Friday to look at other friends of Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton.
