Tulsi Gabbard calls for prosecution of Obama over ‘treasonous conspiracy' in 2016 US election
In a statement accompanied by a set of newly declassified documents, Gabbard alleged that Obama's senior national security team deliberately 'manufactured' and politicised intelligence assessments regarding Russian interference in the 2016 race. She contended that these efforts were part of a coordinated attempt to discredit President Trump and 'subvert the will of the American people.'
Gabbard declared that her office has submitted relevant documents to the US Department of Justice, calling for a full criminal investigation. In her allegations, she has named several prominent Obama-era officials, including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former FBI Director James Comey.
'No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' Gabbard said, according to The Guardian.
According to the declassified report released by Gabbard's office, intelligence community assessments immediately before and after the 2016 election stated that Russia probably was not attempting to change the election outcome using cyber means. The report claims that, following a White House meeting in December 2016, Obama officials shifted their public messaging by relying on still-unverified intelligence, including the so-called Steele dossier, to suggest Russian interference had affected the election's result.
Gabbard's accusations have been swiftly denied by Democratic leaders and former intelligence officials, who characterised her claims as politically motivated and lacking credible evidence. Multiple US intelligence agencies and bipartisan investigations, including the Senate Intelligence Committee, have previously determined that, while Russia did engage in efforts to influence the 2016 campaign, there is no evidence that votes were changed or that Obama administration officials fabricated intelligence.
The Department of Justice has declined to comment on Gabbard's criminal referrals, and leading officials named in her statement have not responded publicly.
(With inputs from The Guardian)
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Jaishankar, according to the MEA statement, 'highlighted the positive impact of peace and tranquility in the border for the smooth development in bilateral relations and supported continued efforts towards de-escalation and border management. He underlined the need for cooperation on trans-border rivers, including resumption of provision of hydrological data by the Chinese side. He also took up restrictive trade measures and roadblocks to economic cooperation.' The issues from India's side are clear. The importance of resolution of the border dispute is stressed, and the minister focused on the need for China to remove export restrictions on critical minerals and rare earths. The Chinese statement sets the international paradigm at the earliest, blaming the disruption in world order on American 'unilateralism, protectionism, power politics and bullying' that are 'posing serious challenges to the world', and from that point the statement employs grandiloquence and hyperbole to define the state of bilateral ties. 'The two sides should aim high, plan for the long term, stay committed to good-neighborliness and friendship, realize the 'Dragon-Elephant Tango', and find a way for mutual respect and trust, peaceful coexistence, common development and win-win cooperation.' India's more sincere and direct framing is contrasted with China's lofty rhetoric that indicates strategic deception. China is also compelled to hedge its bets owing to Trumpian instability but, while India feels compelled to create a new modus vivendi and is betting on pushing the envelope towards a more structured resolution of the border dispute, Beijing remains inflexible and manipulative on the border question. It is telling India to cope with the fact that there remains a power differential in favour of China that's widening, and it will never give up the border leverage – the only option for New Delhi is the one that Beijing is offering, fait accompli. The writer is Deputy Executive Editor, Firstpost. He tweets as @sreemoytalukdar. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
