Tulsi Gabbard Helps Boost Trump's Russia Crusade, Calling for Prosecution of Obama Officials
On Friday, Gabbard called for the Obama administration to be 'prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' alleging a 'conspiracy' by which officials 'manufactured' intelligence to claim that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump's presidential campaign.
Multiple investigations over the past eight years have found that Russia tried to undermine Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and bolster Trump, by leaking documents from the Democratic National Committee. The 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, published during Trump's first term, found that Russia meddled in the election specifically to boost Trump's campaign. These findings have helped foster Trump's grudge against the intel community and the 'deep state.' Trump has long called 'Russiagate' a hoax.
Gabbard, her press release claims, declassified documents that 'revealed overwhelming evidence' allegedly showing Obama and national security officials 'manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump.' It's an ironic claim given that Trump supporters actually did attempt a coup on Jan. 6, and he pardoned them.
The Obama administration's 'goal was to usurp President Trump and subvert the will of the American people,' Gabbard posted on X. 'No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The integrity of our democratic republic depends on it.'
She added that the documents will be turned over to the Department of Justice for criminal referral.
These allegations arrive while Trump is in the spotlight over his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that an investigation already found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
'The Senate Intel Committee unanimously concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election,' he said in a post on X. 'If there had been some Obama conspiracy, we would have found it. This latest lie is another sad, dangerous example of Tulsi Gabbard trying to rewrite history and erode trust in the [intelligence community].'
CNN reported earlier this month that the FBI is investigating former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, both of whom are named in the documents.
Lawmakers questioned Gabbard, who was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait as part of her service in the Army National Guard and has defended Russia's 2020 invasion of Ukraine, over her possible sympathies with Russia during her confirmation hearings.
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