Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused former President Barack Obama of orchestrating a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory, making unprecedented allegations from the White House briefing room on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
Speaking at 11:44 PM EDT, Gabbard alleged that Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment they knew was false regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election. The former Democratic congresswoman claimed Obama’s administration manufactured findings to promote the narrative that Russia interfered to help Trump win.
Gabbard stated that she had made public a Republican-authored report from the House Intelligence Committee regarding the 2016 election that had been classified for five years. The report, which was emphatically rejected by Democratic lawmakers at the time, sought to cast doubt on the assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump’s candidacy.
The Republican House report found that the bulk of the 2017 intelligence assessment was sound but took issue with the finding that Russian President Vladimir Putin aspired to help Trump win. The report argued this judgment was based on one piece of human intelligence open to different interpretations and noted that some CIA officers objected to including this finding.
Obama’s spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush dismissed the allegations as ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. In a rare statement, the former president’s office dismissed Gabbard’s remarks as both outrageous and bizarre, emphasizing that the released documents do not undermine the broadly accepted finding that Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election.
The accusations come as the Trump administration faces mounting pressure over its handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related files. Democrats have accused the administration of attempting to change the subject from the Epstein scandal, with many Trump supporters demanding the government release more documents related to the late financier’s case.
A bipartisan Senate investigation released in 2020 reached different conclusions than the Republican House report. The three-year Senate probe, which involved more than 200 witnesses and reviewed more than one million documents, endorsed the intelligence agencies’ assessment that Russia spread disinformation online and leaked stolen emails to undermine Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and bolster Trump’s prospects. Trump’s current Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the acting chair of the Intelligence Committee at the time (2020) and endorsed the report’s findings along with every other committee member.
Gabbard specifically named several Obama administration officials as allegedly involved in the supposed conspiracy, including former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Secretary of State John Kerry, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
Central to Gabbard’s claims is a National Security Council meeting held on December 9, 2016, at which she alleges Obama ordered a new report detailing Russian interference tools and actions, overruling an earlier assessment. She contends this led to the January 2017 intelligence community assessment that falsely alleged Putin directed efforts to help Trump defeat Clinton.
Democrats criticized Gabbard’s decision to declassify the Republican House report, arguing it could put sensitive sources on Russia at risk. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the Democratic vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, stated that the desperate and irresponsible release puts at risk some of the most sensitive sources and methods the Intelligence Community uses to spy on Russia.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday evening that the Justice Department was creating a strike force to assess the evidence released by Gabbard and investigate potential legal steps stemming from her disclosures. Gabbard indicated she had referred Obama administration officials to the Justice Department over their alleged roles in the plot.
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper dismissed Gabbard’s allegations as patently false and unfounded, noting inaccuracies in the Republican House report regarding statements made about him. Multiple government investigations, including special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe and a review by special counsel John Durham, have previously examined these matters without finding evidence of a criminal conspiracy among Obama administration officials.
The release comes at a time when Gabbard’s standing within the Trump administration has reportedly been in question. In June, Trump publicly undermined her assessment on Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and she was absent from at least one major national security meeting regarding Israel and Iran.
