Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard joined White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at Wednesday’s briefing, during which she confirmed she has referred former President Barack Obama and several of his top aides to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.
Earlier in the day, Gabbard published a previously classified report, authored in 2020 by the House Intelligence Committee, that alleged that Obama directed his intelligence team to publish an assessment that Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 election on President Donald Trump’s behalf despite the intelligence community’s assessment that it was not specifically backing the Republican nominee.
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“There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Barack Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew that was false,” Gabbard claimed Wednesday afternoon. “The evidence that we have found and that we have released directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment. There are multiple pieces of evidence and intelligence that confirm that fact.”
Though Gabbard did confirm she recommended Obama for prosecution, she stopped short of recommending any specific charges, including treason, as Trump suggested Tuesday, in response to multiple questions on the topic.
“That’s a great question for Attorney General Pam Bondi,” she told the Washington Examiner when asked what else the DOJ could pursue besides treason, considering the federal statute of limitations on conspiracy is five years. “We’re providing all of the evidence, all of the intelligence that we have, both redacted and unredacted versions, referring it to the Department of Justice and the FBI.”
Gabbard also declined to answer questions about why the first Trump administration sat on the House intelligence report published Wednesday, even though it was authored during the final year of Trump’s term.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe was the director of national intelligence in 2020 during Trump’s first term.
“He was in that position for a very short period of time. The work that began back then, we have picked up and absolutely completed,” Gabbard told the Washington Examiner when asked if she had spoken to Ratcliffe about the timing of the release. “We are continuing to investigate this.”
“Additional whistleblowers are now coming forward because they see an opportunity for the truth to come to light. And as Karoline [Leavitt] said, for real accountability to be brought forward, the accountability is the essential part of this. We can show the truth, reveal the truth. The accountability needs to occur to be able to start to restore that trust in the integrity of our democracy.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Obama’s office and the DOJ for comment.
Obama issued a rare response to Trump’s call on Tuesday for the department to investigate and prosecute the former president.
“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for Obama, said Tuesday afternoon. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These 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,” Rodenbush continued. “These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”
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You can watch Gabbard’s comments in full below.