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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released documents alleging that top officials from the Obama administration manipulated intelligence to create a narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Gabbard claims these actions were part of a "treasonous conspiracy" to harm President Donald Trump.
The documents released by Gabbard suggest that the Obama administration pressured intelligence officials to alter their findings. The documents highlight an email from an assistant to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, indicating President Barack Obama requested a new assessment of Russian actions in the 2016 election.
Gabbard has threatened to file criminal referrals with the Justice Department to top officials in the Obama administration over the allegations.
Despite these claims, multiple reviews, including a Republican-led Senate report, have supported the original findings that Russia aimed to influence the election by damaging Hillary Clinton's campaign and supporting Trump.
Intelligence agencies and Senate investigators previously concluded that while Russia conducted operations to influence public opinion, there was no evidence of vote manipulation.
According to The New York Times, Democrats have denounced the report as politically motivated and inaccurate. Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Gabbard's accusations "baseless." Senator Mark Warner of Virginia emphasized that the new report confuses Russian hacking attempts with influence operations, which were separate efforts.