Top intelligence officials in President Donald Trump’s administration are trying to rewrite the official account of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, claiming that previous reports exaggerated or manipulated the facts.
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe have publicly alleged that Obama administration officials conspired to undermine Trump’s victory in 2016. They cited newly declassified emails, claiming these show efforts to exaggerate Russia’s involvement in order to question Trump’s legitimacy as president.
However, multiple investigations in recent years—including a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report in 2020 and a CIA review—confirmed Russia interfered in the 2016 election. The investigations found that Russia launched a widespread disinformation campaign to damage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump’s chances.
In contrast to Gabbard’s claims, the investigations found no criminal conspiracy by Obama officials to sabotage Trump, and no charges were filed against any CIA officials involved.
On Monday, Fox News reported that Gabbard’s office had made a criminal referral to the Justice Department related to the 2017 intelligence assessment of Russia’s election interference. The details of the referral remain unclear, and neither the Justice Department nor Gabbard’s office have confirmed the report.
Claims of “Treasonous Conspiracy”
Gabbard has called the actions of Obama-era officials a “treasonous conspiracy” aimed at removing Trump from power. She stated that those involved must be investigated and prosecuted to prevent future abuses.
In her statement, Gabbard referenced the 2017 intelligence assessment, which concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered efforts to influence the 2016 election in Trump’s favor. This included hacking Democratic Party emails and using fake social media accounts to spread misinformation.
At the time, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the panel found “irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling.” He also confirmed that there was no proof of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Partisan Dispute Intensifies
Democratic lawmakers have criticized Gabbard’s recent actions, accusing her of rewriting history and damaging trust in U.S. intelligence agencies. They claim her statements are part of an effort to shift attention away from other controversies, such as calls to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Gabbard’s claims were an attempt to “cook the books” and ignore the bipartisan conclusions of multiple investigations.
Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Gabbard’s allegations “baseless” and warned that they revive conspiracy theories already debunked by years of official reviews.
Intelligence Community Pushback
Some former intelligence officials have also spoken out. Susan Miller, a senior CIA officer who helped prepare the 2017 report, defended the findings. While she criticized the inclusion of an annex referring to the unverified Christopher Steele dossier, she stood by the assessment that Russia sought to help Trump win.
Miller accused CIA Director John Ratcliffe of pushing a partisan narrative, saying, “He’s doing Trump’s bidding to go after those of us who dared to write a report that simply said the Russians tried to influence the election towards Trump.”
Similarly, Larry Pfeiffer, a former senior intelligence official, said Gabbard’s actions were “grossly flawed” and risked harming the credibility of U.S. intelligence agencies.
Despite the controversy, both the 2017 intelligence report and the 2020 Senate investigation concluded that while Russia hacked some state election systems, there was no evidence votes were changed or ballot counts were altered.
