Contributor News
Strike Force Activated: DOJ Launches Probe After Gabbard Declassifies Russia Hoax Evidence
In a powerful follow-up to last week’s explosive release, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard held a press conference today unveiling a newly declassified report. This latest disclosure builds on the July 18 report and expands the evidence that senior Obama-era officials deliberately manipulated intelligence to target President Trump.
Gabbard called it “the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history.” According to her office and during today’s press conference Gabbard stated, “there is irrefutable evidence,” that former President Obama and his top national security officials deliberately manipulated intelligence following Donald Trump’s 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton—laying the foundation for a years-long effort to delegitimize Trump’s presidency.
Declassified Documents Reveal Fabrication of 2017 Intelligence Assessment
In a post published Wednesday morning on X, DNI Gabbard announced the declassification of a @HouseIntel oversight majority staff report, made public at the direction of President Donald Trump. The report alleges that senior Obama-era officials, including CIA Director John Brennan, DNI James Clapper, and FBI Director James Comey, knowingly manufactured the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA)—a key document that claimed Russian interference was intended to help 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,” Gabbard stated.
The declassified report challenges the integrity of the 2017 ICA, directly contradicting previous high-profile investigations, including the 2019 Mueller Report and the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee probe in 2020, both of which concluded that Russia had attempted to influence the election in Trump’s favor.
Key Lies and the Truth—As Outlined by Gabbard
In both the press conference and her online statement, Gabbard outlined three major claims from the Obama-era intelligence narrative that the newly declassified documents now refute:
LIE: Putin and the Russian government helped Trump win the 2016 election
TRUTH: Obama, Brennan, and other officials fabricated the Russia Hoax, suppressed intelligence showing that Putin anticipated a Clinton victory, relied on faulty sources, violated Intelligence Community standards, and knowingly misled the public.LIE: The Steele Dossier was not used as a source in the 2017 ICA
TRUTH: Not only was the dossier used, but Brennan, Comey, Clapper, and others overruled senior intelligence officials who warned it was discredited and should not be included.LIE: The ICA was an independent, apolitical Intelligence Community product
TRUTH: The assessment was ordered by President Obama with a predetermined political narrative, designed to undermine the incoming Trump administration.
DOJ Responds: Strike Force Formed to Investigate
In a dramatic development later in the day, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a special Strike Force to assess the newly publicized evidence and determine appropriate legal steps.
“This Department takes alleged weaponization of the intelligence community with the utmost seriousness,” the DOJ said in a formal statement.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi issued her own remarks, emphasizing the importance of the investigation:
“The Department of Justice is proud to work with my friend Director Gabbard, and we are grateful for her partnership in delivering accountability for the American people. We will investigate these troubling disclosures fully and leave no stone unturned to deliver justice.”
Initial report released on Friday, July 18th: