Latest news with #Director'sInitiativeGroup
Boston Globe
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Obama's office rebukes Trump admin's treason claims as ‘distraction'
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesperson for Obama, said in a statement that while the office 'does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' the administration's new 'bizarre' and 'ridiculous' allegations warranted one. Advertisement '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,' Rodenbush wrote, referring to Trump's secretary of state. Multiple in-depth investigations found that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election, largely in an attempt to interfere with US democracy but also in a way that suggested Putin preferred Trump to win. Advertisement The studies and assessments include the years-long bipartisan investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which Rubio signed onto; the probe by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III; and the January 2017 US intelligence community assessment that Trump and his aides are now seeking to undermine. Earlier Tuesday, Trump said a criminal investigation should move forward as a result of the findings, saying, 'it's time to go after people.' He singled out Obama, whom he said had been 'caught directly.' 'It's Obama. His orders are on the paper. The papers are signed. The papers came right at their office. … What they did in 2016 and in 2020 is very criminal. It's criminal at the highest level,' Trump told reporters. Gabbard said in a Tuesday interview with Fox News that Obama's office was deflecting. 'There is a long laundry list of facts and intelligence reporting that directly contradict the statement coming from President Obama's office and those who are trying to deflect away from what actually happened,' Gabbard claimed in the interview with the president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. '… After Donald Trump was elected, led by President Obama there was an effort to create a document that would serve as a foundation for what would be a years-long coup against President Trump, therefore trying to subvert the will of the American people who sent him to the White House in 2016.' The documents released by a special team that Gabbard has assembled called the Director's Initiative Group conflated two separate lines of inquiry into Russia's election interference: one having to do with potential cyberattacks by Moscow on U.S. voting machines and other election infrastructure, the other involving social media campaigns and hacking of Democratic campaign documents that were then publicly released. Advertisement Gabbard released documents, including a declassified September 2016 study by spy agencies, that found Russia and foreign adversaries probably would not be able to use cyberattacks against US election infrastructure or manipulate vote totals in any meaningful way. But the attacks that did take place, according to previous investigations, involved other cyber tools: divisive cyber media campaigns and hacking into computer systems belonging to the campaign of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. The hacks were the work of two Russian intelligence agencies, the GRU and the SVR, investigators found. The statement from Rodenbush also marks a rare public rebuke of the Trump White House from Obama's team. On Monday, for example, a spokesperson for Obama declined to comment when asked by The Post about a video Trump posted on the social media platform he owns, Truth Social. The video, which appears to have been generated with artificial intelligence, appears to show Obama being pushed to the floor and arrested by FBI agents inside the Oval Office as Trump, seated beside the former president, watches and smiles. As of Tuesday evening, the post had been reshared nearly 12,000 times. Although it had been rare for there to be so much friction between current and former occupants of the Oval Office, Obama has been a frequent target of Trump's attacks. Most recently, Trump has suggested that Obama somehow helped write the 'Epstein files' and is mishandling the construction of Obama's presidential library. Obama, for his part, sought to present a contrast to the president without becoming a high-profile spokesman for the Democratic opposition. Last month, Obama suggested Trump has a 'weak attachment to democracy.' Advertisement
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tulsi Gabbard demanding access to intel agency emails to find spies working to undermine the Trump agenda: report
A team created by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has allegedly sought mass amounts of internal emails and chat logs from top U.S. spy agencies, in an effort to use A.I. tools to screen for government employees opposing the Trump administration agenda. The team, known as the Director's Initiative Group, has reportedly sought information from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and other agencies involved in sensitive intelligence work, unnamed insiders told The Washington Post. Sources told the paper the alleged effort, which so far has been unsuccessful, would represent a 'treasure trove of a target for any foreign intelligence service to go after' if ever completed, and was conducted with an underlying emphasis on rooting out ostensible 'Deep State' career officials working to undermine the president. Gabbard's team has reportedly framed its data access efforts as an attempt to pursue increased efficiency and transparency, similar to the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency initiative that took place across a variety of U.S. agencies. A spokesperson for Gabbard disputed the paper's reporting. 'The truth is, under the leadership of President Trump, DNI Gabbard and her team at [the Office of the Director of National Intelligence] are daring to do what no other has done before — expose the truth and end the politicization and weaponization of intelligence against Americans,' they said. Announced in April, the Director's Initiative Group has a mission of 'restoring transparency and accountability to the Intelligence Community,' according to the Trump administration. The group is tasked with 'investigating weaponization, rooting out deep-seeded politicization, exposing unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence, and declassifying information that serves a public interest,' read a statement from Gabbard's office announcing the effort. Since taking office, the Trump administration has vowed to end the alleged 'weaponization' of law enforcement and intelligence agencies against perceived opponents. Gabbard has been involved in multiple high-profile firings of intelligence officials, which critics said were motivated by partisan interests, since being confirmed in February. In April, more than 100 members of the intelligence community were fired for using official chatrooms to discuss personal matters, including sexually explicit topics and gender transition surgery, after chat logs were published by conservative activist and commentator Christopher Rufo. The following month, top career officials on the National Intelligence Council were fired for allegedly leaking material to the media. The firings came after the administration was embarrassed by leaks of intelligence assessments that concluded the Venezuelan government was likely not coordinating with the Tren de Aragua gang - a claim that served as the foundation of the White House's use of the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport alleged gang members inside the U.S.
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Gabbard Starts a Task Force Focused on Politicization of the Intelligence Agencies
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, announced Tuesday a new task force that would work on declassifying information in the public interest and improving efficiency inside the intelligence agencies. Ms. Gabbard framed the work of the new task force, the Director's Initiative Group, as an effort to eliminate the politicization of the agencies and to investigate episodes where intelligence was 'weaponized' against people. Some of the examples Ms. Gabbard's office highlights as efforts to remove politics from the intelligence agencies have been seen by Democrats and Biden administration officials as political themselves, such as stripping security clearances from senior Democrats and opponents of President Trump. But in a statement, Ms. Gabbard said the new push would restore trust in intelligence agencies. 'We are committed to executing the president's vision and focusing the intelligence community on its core mission: ensuring our security by providing the president and policymakers with timely, apolitical, objective, relevant intelligence to inform their decision-making to ensure the safety, security and freedom of the American people,' Ms. Gabbard said. Ms. Gabbard's office did not name the members of the initiative group. The group will review documents for potential declassification and release on a range of topics including the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, the intelligence community's investigations of the health incidents linked to Havana syndrome and the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. The group may also advise on the release of documents on the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, which President Trump ordered released. Ms. Gabbard also said she would have the group assess whether information about the Biden administration's alleged surveillance or censorship of Americans should be released. While her office provided few details, the Trump administration has criticized the Biden administration's work against domestic terrorism and countering disinformation, arguing such efforts curbed the rights of Mr. Trump's supporters. The group will also make recommendations to end wasteful spending by the intelligence agencies and to cut bureaucracy. Senior administration officials have suggested that cumbersome structures inside some spy agencies have slowed the flow of intelligence to the President's Daily Brief and other important intelligence documents.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gabbard establishes new intelligence community task force to restore transparency
EXCLUSIVE: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard established a new task force charged with restoring transparency and accountability in the intelligence community, Fox News Digital has learned. The group, dubbed the Director's Initiative Group (DIG), is starting by investigating weaponization within the intelligence community. Tulsi Gabbard Revokes Security Clearances, Access To Classified Information For Biden, Harris, Clinton, Others Officials said the group will also work to root out politicization and expose unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence. In addition, it will work to declassify information "that serves a public interest." So far, the Director's Initiative Group has reviewed documents for potential declassification, including information related to the origins of COVID-19 and the John F. Kennedy Jr., Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination files; the original Trump–Russia investigation; anomalous health incidents; the Biden administration's domestic surveillance and censorship against Americans, and more. Officials told Fox News Digital that the Director's Initiative Group also is leading assessments of the structure of the intelligence community, its resources and its personnel to "approve efficiency and eliminate wasteful spending." Read On The Fox News App Gabbard told Fox News Digital that she established the group "in order to rebuild trust in the intelligence community and execute the tasks required by President Trump's intelligence-related executive orders." "We are already identifying wasteful spending in real time, streamlining outdated processes, reviewing documents for declassification, and leading ongoing efforts to root out abuses of power and politicization," Gabbard told Fox News Digital. Gabbard Says Biden Admin Ignored 'Highly Inappropriate' Chats Happening At National Security Agencies "President Trump promised the American people maximum transparency and accountability," she continued. "We are committed to executing the president's vision and focusing the intelligence community on its core mission: ensuring our security by providing the president and policymakers with timely, apolitical, objective, relevant intelligence to inform their decision-making to ensure the safety, security and freedom of the American people." Gabbard also has held employees who participated in sexually explicit NSA chatrooms accountable, and is pursuing action on those who have made unauthorized leaks of classified information within the intelligence community. In February, Gabbard said former President Joe Biden's administration was aware of "very sexually explicit, highly inappropriate and unprofessional chatter" happening on internal agency messaging boards across national intelligence entities for years, but they allowed it to go on. She said the chat rooms "were set up because of DEI policies." Dni Tulsi Gabbard Moves To Terminate, Revoke Security Clearances Of Nsa Employees Tied To Explicit Chatrooms Federal employees are still under investigation for allegedly misusing an internal agency messaging board to dish on their sexual fantasies under the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), officials say. Chat logs from the National Security Agency's (NSA) "Intelink" messaging platform, obtained by researchers from the conservative Manhattan Institute reportedly via sources within the NSA, revealed employees from various intelligence agencies discussing their experiences with gender-reassignment surgery, artificial genitalia, hormone therapy, polyamory and pronoun usage. Some of these agencies reportedly include the Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Naval Intelligence and the NSA. After the Intelink chat logs were released, an NSA spokesperson indicated to Fox News Digital that it was "actively investigating" potential abuses of the agency-operated messaging platform. Meanwhile, since becoming director of national intelligence, Gabbard revoked the security clearances of several people, including Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and other Trump political opponents. She also revoked the security clearances of "the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden 'disinformation' letter."Original article source: Gabbard establishes new intelligence community task force to restore transparency
Fox News
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Gabbard establishes new Intelligence Community task force to restore transparency
EXCLUSIVE: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard established a new task force charged with restoring transparency and accountability in the intelligence community, Fox News Digital has learned. The group, dubbed the Director's Initiative Group (DIG), is starting by investigating weaponization within the intelligence community. Officials said the group will also work to root out politicization and expose unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence. It will also work to declassify information "that serves a public interest." So far, the Director's Initiative Group has reviewed documents for potential declassification, including information related to the origins of COVID-19 and the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassination files; the original Trump-Russia investigation; anomalous health incidents; the Biden administration's domestic surveillance and censorship against Americans and more. Officials told Fox News Digital that the Director's Initiative Group also is leading assessments of the structure of the intelligence community, its resources and its personnel to "approve efficiency and eliminate wasteful spending." Gabbard told Fox News Digital that she established the group "in order to rebuild trust in the intelligence community and execute the tasks required by President Trump's intelligence-related executive orders." "We are already identifying wasteful spending in real time, streamlining outdated processes, reviewing documents for declassification, and leading ongoing efforts to root out abuses of power and politicization," Gabbard told Fox News Digital. "President Trump promised the American people maximum transparency and accountability," she continued. "We are committed to executing the president's vision and focusing the intelligence community on its core mission: ensuring our security by providing the president and policymakers with timely, apolitical, objective, relevant intelligence to inform their decision-making to ensure the safety, security and freedom of the American people." Gabbard also has held employees who participated in sexually-explicit NSA chatrooms accountable, and is pursuing action on those who have made unauthorized leaks of classified information within the intelligence community. In February, Gabbard said former President Joe Biden's administration was aware of "very sexually explicit, highly inappropriate and unprofessional chatter" happening on internal agency messaging boards across national intelligence entities for years, but they allowed it to go on. She said the chatrooms "were set up because of DEI policies." Federal employees are still under investigation for allegedly misusing an internal agency messaging board to dish on their sexual fantasies under the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), officials say. Chat logs from the National Security Agency's (NSA) "Intelink" messaging platform, obtained by researchers from the conservative Manhattan Institute reportedly via sources within the NSA, revealed employees from various intelligence agencies discussing their experiences with gender-reassignment surgery, artificial genitalia, hormone therapy, polyamory and pronoun usage. Some of these agencies reportedly include the Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Naval Intelligence and the NSA. After the Intelink chat logs were released Monday, an NSA spokesperson indicated to Fox News Digital that it was "actively investigating" potential abuses of the agency-operated messaging platform. Meanwhile, since becoming director of National Intelligence, Gabbard revoked the security clearances of several people, including former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and other Trump political opponents. She also revoked the security clearances of "the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden 'disinformation' letter."
