White House sends mixed signals in Russia 'hoax' blame game
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio's position when he led the Senate Intelligence Committee fell in line with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's new findings.
"He said what they found is troubling," Leavitt said, while standing beside Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard at a Wednesday White House press briefing. "We found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling, which the director of national intelligence just confirmed for all of you that Russia was trying to sow distrust and chaos."
"What's the outrage in this – that Secretary Rubio did not say at the time, the Democrats were saying at the time – is the fact that the intelligence community was concocting this narrative that the president colluded with the Russians, that the president's son was holding secret meetings with the Russians, all of these lies that were never true," she continued.
In 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Sen. Rubio, released a report finding "irrefutable evidence" of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Now, Gabbard claims Obama officials manipulated intelligence to undermine Trump's victory by playing up Russia's actions during the 2016 election.
But, Rubio said at the time, "We can say, without any hesitation, that the Committee found absolutely no evidence that then-candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election."
He added that the report had found "deeply troubling actions" on behalf of the FBI, "particularly their acceptance and willingness to rely on the 'Steele Dossier' without verifying its methodology or sourcing."
The Steele dossier was funded by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee through the law firm Perkins Coie.
Documents recently released by Gabbard found intelligence showing Russian actors did not impact the 2016 election had been "suppressed."
The Obama administration "manufactured and politicized intelligence" to create the narrative that Russia was attempting to influence the 2016 presidential election, despite information from the intelligence community stating otherwise, Gabbard claimed.
Gabbard also said the declassified documents have been shared with the Department of Justice and the FBI so those agencies can evaluate if any criminal implications stemming from the materials are warranted.
Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush responded to the DNI claims: "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. 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. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio," he added.
Rubio's office referred Fox News Digital to Leavitt's comments.
Documents stated that intelligence officials had found Russia was "probably not trying… to influence the election by using cyber means."
One instance was on Dec. 7, 2016, weeks after the election. Then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's talking points stated: "Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. presidential election outcome."
A presidential daily brief prepared for President Barack Obama in 2016 assessed: "Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure."
But, the brief found, "Russian Government-affiliated actors most likely compromised an Illinois voter registration database and unsuccessfully attempted the same in other states."
The brief stated that it was "highly unlikely" the effort "would have resulted in altering any state's official vote result."
"Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes," it stated.
The brief said the office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed Russian activities "probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates."
Obama officials then "leaked false statements to media outlets," according to Gabbard's office, claiming, "Russia has attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election."
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