Gabbard calls for probe into 2016 election intelligence leak claims
In a press statement, Gabbard claimed that Obama and his team carried out an extended plan to remove Trump by creating false intelligence reports that said Russia had interfered in the election. At the center of her claim is the Steele dossier—a report made by former British spy Christopher Steele—which Gabbard says the Obama administration used even though they knew it was unreliable.
She said: "The documents we are sharing today clearly show that top government officials tried to go against the will of the American people and remove a legally elected president. Everyone involved must be fully investigated and punished by law."
Gabbard, who used to be a Democratic congresswoman and has often criticized U.S. foreign policy, said she has given key documents to the Department of Justice. These include an older, partly censored intelligence report on 2016 election cyber threats and several memos, including ones written by James Clapper, who was Obama's intelligence chief.
Gabbard named Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and Obama himself as part of what she calls a conspiracy.
Her claims are bringing fresh attention to the beginnings of the Russia investigation—something Trump has consistently called a "hoax." Gabbard's report says earlier intelligence did not expect Russian interference, but that later leaks and news reports changed the narrative after Trump won.
One memo from December 9, 2016, says some intelligence officials gave false or misleading information to the media to make it look like Russia had a substantial effect on the election. Gabbard claims that earlier reports actually doubted Russia's ability or intent to hack the election.
She also says that the final public Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), released on January 6, 2017, partly relied on the Steele dossier to support the idea that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted Trump to beat Hillary Clinton.
The Steele dossier, which included some unproven claims about Trump and Russia, helped launch Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mueller's report later confirmed that Russia did interfere in the election in a significant way, but did not find enough proof that Trump's team worked with Moscow.
Gabbard's appointment as intelligence chief was controversial. She had no background in intelligence, and some of her past comments seemed supportive of Russia. Critics point to her statements about Vladimir Putin and her views on the war in Ukraine as signs she shares some of the Kremlin's ideas.
Gabbard is now focusing again on how the Russia investigation began. This comes at a time when Trump and his allies are also pushing to reveal more documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges. Trump has accused several Obama-era officials—including James Comey and Joe Biden—of using the Russia probe and other issues to attack him and cover up their own actions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
14 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Can his golf course ‘further' US-UK relations? Trump will use meeting with prime minister to try
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — President Donald Trump once suggested his golf course in Scotland 'furthers' the U.S.-U.K. relationship. Now he's getting the chance to prove it. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is meeting Monday with Trump at a golf property owned by the president's family near Turnberry in southwestern Scotland — then later traveling to Abderdeen, on the country's northeast coast, where there's another Trump golf course and a third is opening soon. During his first term in 2019, Trump posted of his Turnberry property, 'Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. Also, furthers U.K. relationship!' Starmer is not a golfer, but toggling between Trump's Scottish courses shows the outsized influence the president puts on properties bearing his name — and on golf's ability to shape geopolitics. While China initially responded to Trump's tariff threats by retaliating with high import taxes of its own on U.S. goods but has since begun negotiating easing trade tensions, Starmer and his country have taken a far softer approach. He's gone out of his way to work with Trump, flattering the president repeatedly during a February visit to the White House, and teaming up to announce a joint trade framework on tariffs for some key products in May. Starmer and Trump then signed a trade agreement during the G7 summit in Canada that freed the U.K.'s aerospace sector from U.S. tariffs and used quotas to reduce them on auto-related industries from 25% to 10% while increasing the amount of U.S. beef it pledged to import. The prime minister's office says Monday's meeting will also touch on Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, and that it hopes to welcome the Trump administration working with officials in Qatar and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire. Starmer plans to stress the urgent need to cease the fighting and work to end starvation and other suffering occurring amid increasingly desperate circumstances in Gaza. Also on the agenda, according to Starmer's office, are efforts to promote a possible peace deal to end fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine — particularly efforts at forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table in the next 50 days. Protesters, meanwhile, have planned a demonstration in Balmedie, near Trump's existing course, after demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday to decry the president's visit. Discussions with Starmer follow Trump meeting Sunday with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at his Turnberry course. They announced a trade framework that will put 15% tariffs on most goods from both countries — though many major details remain pending. On Tuesday, Trump will be at the site of his new course near Aberdeen for an official ribbon cutting. It opens to the public on Aug. 13 and tee times are already for sale — with the course betting that a presidential visit can help boost sales. There are still lingering U.S.-Britain trade issues that need fine-tuning after the previous agreements, including the tariff rates Washington imposes on steel imported from the U.K. Even as some trade details linger and both leaders grapple with increasingly difficult choices in Gaza and Ukraine, however, Starmer's attempts to stay on Trump's good side appears to be working. 'The U.K. is very well-protected. You know why? Because I like them — that's their ultimate protection,' Trump said during the G7. Also likely to improve Trump's mood is the fact that the U.S. ran an $11.4 billion trade surplus with Britain last year, meaning it exported more to the U.K. than it imported. Census Bureau figures this year indicate that the surplus could grow. The president has for months railed against yawning U.S. trade deficits with key allies and sees tariffs as a way to try and close them in hurry. Trump is set to return to Britain in September for an unprecedented second state visit. Trump will be hosted then by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.
CTV News
40 minutes ago
- CTV News
U.S.-EU trade deal raises questions of how Canada will fair as deadline looms
Watch Japan and the EU have now inked trade deals with the U.S., but how will Canada fair as Trump's deadline looms? CTV's Jeremie Charron has more.
Canada News.Net
2 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Columbia agrees to pay $220 million to US administration over protests
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Columbia University has agreed to pay more than US$220 million to the U.S. government to regain federal research funding that had been cut earlier this year. The Trump administration had canceled the funding due to what it said was the university's failure to adequately address antisemitism on campus, especially during student protests linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The settlement includes two parts: $200 million will be paid over the next three years as a general settlement. $21 million will go to resolve claims that Jewish employees faced discrimination after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president, said the agreement helps the university move forward after months of federal pressure and uncertainty. Earlier this year, the government had already canceled over $400 million in grants and had threatened to take away more federal money. To restore its funding, Columbia agreed to make significant changes, including: Revising its student discipline process. Applying a federal definition of antisemitism in both classroom teaching and student investigations. Reviewing its Middle East studies to ensure they are balanced. Hiring new faculty for its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. Ending any programs that aim for race-based goals, quotas, or "unlawful" diversity targets. Reporting to a federal monitor to prove its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs don't break the law. Although Columbia did not admit to any wrongdoing, it agreed to these changes as part of the settlement. Shipman said the university's independence would be maintained despite the reforms. Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the deal, calling it a significant turning point in how universities that accept federal money are held accountable. She added that Columbia's changes could be a model for other elite colleges that want to show they support fairness and open debate. President Trump also commented, saying Columbia had agreed to stop "ridiculous DEI policies" and to admit students based only on merit. He warned that other colleges may soon face similar action if they misused federal funds or failed to protect student rights. Columbia's agreement follows months of controversy. The university became one of the first targets of the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests and rising campus tensions. Some Jewish students said they faced insults, social exclusion, and embarrassment in class during the demonstrations. However, other Jewish students joined the protests, saying they were criticizing Israel's policies — not Judaism or Jews. The university has had three interim presidents in the past year. Its leadership admits the campus atmosphere must change. As part of the deal, Columbia will now ask international applicants why they want to study in the U.S. and will promote respectful discussion on campus. Columbia also agreed to share information with the government — if asked — about foreign students on visas who are suspended or expelled due to protests. This could make it easier for the Trump administration to deport certain student activists. Just a day before the deal was announced, Columbia said it would expel, suspend, or revoke degrees from more than 70 students who joined a pro-Palestinian protest inside the main library and a previous demonstration held during alumni weekend. The government pressure began with cuts in funding. A former student protester, Mahmoud Khalil, became the first non-citizen arrested as part of Trump's push to deport pro-Palestinian activists. Later, the Justice Department searched dorm rooms to see if the university was hiding people in the country illegally. Columbia responded that it would follow the law. Columbia was the first significant test case in Trump's efforts to reshape higher education, but attention later shifted to Harvard, which decided to challenge the administration in court. Trump's administration has used federal funding to force colleges to change. So far, over $2 billion has been withheld from top schools including Cornell, Brown, Northwestern, and Princeton. In one case, the University of Pennsylvania lost $175 million over a dispute involving transgender athlete Lia Thomas, which was returned after the school changed its policies. The administration is also pressuring public universities. The University of Virginia president resigned in June after a federal probe into DEI practices, and a similar investigation just began at George Mason University. This settlement at Columbia marks a turning point in how federal money is used to shape what happens on U.S. college campuses.
