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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Durham disclosures further undermine Gabbard's claims of plot against Trump
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US national intelligence, hoped to uncover evidence that Barack Obama and his national security team conspired to undermine Donald Trump in a slow-motion coup. But if her crusade was aimed at proving that Obama embarked on a 'treasonous conspiracy' to falsely show that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump, Gabbard made a mistake. A previously classified annexe to a report by another special counsel, John Durham – appointed towards the end of Trump's first presidency – has further undermined Gabbard's case. It was a quixotic enterprise from the start. After all, the 2019 report from Robert Mueller, the original special counsel appointed to investigate the Russia allegations, and a bipartisan five-volume report the following year from the Senate intelligence committee – then chaired by Marco Rubio, now Trump's secretary of state – both affirmed the offending January 2017 intelligence community assessment, which expressed 'high confidence' in Russian interference. Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, seemed to validate the intelligence's premise in 2018 when, standing beside Trump at a news conference in Helsinki, he admitted wanting him to win. The newly unclassified 29-page document from Durham, made public this week, contains a deflating conclusion for Gabbard. It confirms that Russian spies were behind the emails that were originally released as the result of a Russian cyber-hack of internal Democratic information channels and which Trump supporters believed showed the campaign of Hillary Clinton, his 2016 opponent, conspiring to accuse him of colluding with Moscow. 'The office's best assessment is that the July 25 and July 27 emails that purport to be from Benardo were ultimately a composite of several emails that were obtained through Russian intelligence hacking of the US-based thinktanks,' Durham writes. He is referring to Leonard Benardo, of the Open Society Foundation, funded by George Soros, a philanthropist and bete noire of Trump's Maga base. One of the emails purportedly from Benardo proposes a plan 'to demonize Putin and Trump' and adds: 'Later the FBI will put more oil on the fire.' That message and others, including from a Clinton foreign policy aide, Julianne Smith, became part of the so-called 'Clinton Plan intelligence'. Benardo and Smith disputed ever writing such emails. In his 2023 report annexe, released on Thursday in heavily redacted form, Durham at least upholds Benardo's disavowal – concluding that it has been cobbled together from other individuals' emails to produce something more incriminating than the actuality. For Gabbard, who is feverishly trying to prove the existence of a 'deep state' determined to sabotage Trump, emails suspected to have been confected by Russia is hardly a brilliant look in her evidence package. Some former intelligence insiders find that unsurprising – dismissing the idea as a Trump-inspired fiction. 'Trump is lying when he speaks of a 'deep state',' said Fulton Armstrong, a retired CIA analyst who served under Democratic and Republican administrations. 'But if there were one, it would not be Democrat. The culture of that world is deeply Republican.' The national intelligence director – who has never served in the intelligence services or sat on its eponymous congressional committee when she was in the House of Representatives – is likely to see Durham's finding as immaterial to her quest to put Obama officials on trial for 'manufacturing' intelligence. But Gabbard's insistence – echoing her boss's view – on the existence of a plot to torpedo Trump was dismissed on Friday by John Brennan, the CIA director under Obama, who told the New Yorker that Obama issued instructions that intelligence showing Russian meddling to be kept hush-hush, at least until polling day, to ensure a fair election. 'He made very clear to us [that] he wanted us to try to uncover everything the Russians were doing, but also not to do anything that would in any way interfere in the election,' Brennan said. Gabbard has cited a 2020 House of Representatives intelligence committee report – endorsed only by its Republican members – challenging the assertion that Putin wanted to Trump to win. However, Michael Van Landingham, one of the CIA authors of the 2017 intelligence assessment now in her crosshairs, said credible intelligence cast the Russian leader's motives in an unambiguous light. 'The primary evidence to get to Putin's mindset was a clandestine source that said, essentially, when Putin realized that Clinton would win the election, he ordered an influence campaign against Hillary Clinton,' Van Landingham told PBS News Hour. 'Then we saw a series of events that happened with the hacked US materials by the Russian special services or intelligence services to leak those materials similar to the information a clandestine source had provided. At the same time, we saw lots of members of the Russian media portraying Donald Trump in a more positive light. 'There was other information … collected by the US intelligence community … over time, having a high-quality, clandestine source telling you that Putin was counting on Trump's victory, having members of the Russian state saying Trump would be better to work with because of his views on Russia that don't represent the US establishment, all of those things gave us high confidence that Putin wanted Trump to win.'
New York Times
30-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Brennan and Clapper: Let's Set the Record Straight on Russia and 2016
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, and John Ratcliffe, the Central Intelligence Agency director, have over the past month claimed that senior officials of the Obama administration manufactured politicized intelligence, silenced intelligence professionals and engaged in a broad 'treasonous conspiracy' to undermine the presidency of Donald Trump. That is patently false. In making those allegations, they seek to rewrite history. We want to set the record straight and, in doing so, sound a warning. Let's recap. The Trump administration's claims focus on the intelligence community's findings about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which were published in January 2017. The assessment found that President Vladimir Putin of Russia had ordered an influence campaign to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process and harm the electability and potential presidency of the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton. The assessment also found that the Russians had developed a 'clear preference' for Mr. Trump and aspired to help his election prospects. It further stated that the Russians employed a variety of tactics as part of this campaign, including hacking into the email accounts of Democratic Party organizations and officials and publicly releasing the stolen data through digital allies. Those covert activities were complemented by the overt but disguised efforts of Russian government intelligence agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries and paid social media users. As stated in the assessment, Mr. Putin himself ordered Russian intelligence to conduct the campaign. While some external critiques have noted that parts of the Russia investigation could have been handled better, multiple, thorough, yearslong reviews of the assessment have validated its findings and the rigor of its analysis. The most noteworthy was the unanimous, bipartisan, five-volume report issued by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, whose Republican members at the time included Marco Rubio, now the secretary of state, and Senator Tom Cotton, now the committee chairman. 'In all the interviews of those who drafted and prepared the [assessment], the Committee heard consistently that analysts were under no politically motivated pressure to reach specific conclusions,' the Senate report said. 'All analysts expressed that they were free to debate, object to content and assess confidence levels, as is normal and proper for the analytic process.' The special counsel John Durham, who was appointed during Mr. Trump's first term to investigate how the Russia probe was conducted, similarly found no evidence of an Obama administration conspiracy against Mr. Trump. But he affirmed the findings of the special counsel Robert Mueller, who conducted a separate investigation into the allegations, which found ample evidence of Russian interference in the election. More recently, the C.I.A.'s Mr. Ratcliffe ordered yet another review of the 2017 assessment, which determined that its 'level of analytic rigor exceeded that of most [intelligence] assessments.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Wall Street Journal
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
A Gift Obama Should Give to America
When Barack Obama was our president critics often said that he was on an 'apology tour' for the frequency with which he appeared before foreign audiences and denounced the acts of his predecessors. Mr. Obama's defenders said that he was not explicitly apologizing for America but was merely acknowledging mistakes made under previous administrations. So why shouldn't Mr. Obama now acknowledge the injustice done by his own administration in abusing the intelligence apparatus of the federal government to target our duly elected 45th president? Just as when he criticized the actions of predecessors, Mr. Obama doesn't need to use the word 'sorry.' He doesn't need to utter the phrase, 'I apologize.' But he is at fault at least for failing to wisely oversee the leaders of the intelligence community during his time in office. Should he not acknowledge the damage that the collusion hoax, which was manufactured on his watch, has done to our politics?
Associated Press
25-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Profiles of Good Character and Inspiring Innovation: Spotlighting Mission-Driven Mentor Natasha Laorenza
Natasha Laorenza's impact is measured not just in forward-thinking innovation, but in the strong culture she cultivates. Her work reflects the best of CACI: investing ahead of need, delivering with integrity, and empowering people at every level. Natasha brings a rare blend of technical foresight and heartfelt leadership to her role as project manager for CACI's Williamsburg program, one of several contracts supporting mission management capabilities for the Intelligence Community (IC). 'As a project manager, I've found that the best results come from listening to the full range of perspectives,' she said. 'My team's collaborative approach opens the door to fresh, innovative tactics that help us modernize and integrate operations more effectively.' With Natasha's guidance, the Williamsburg team consistently outpaces expectations. She drives rapid, effective integration — including a recent engagement completed in just two months — showcasing her ability to unite teams and deliver results faster than competitors. Building on that momentum, her team drew from past experience to proactively develop a custom capability that compared planned and executed tasking — anticipating the customer's evolving needs and enabling smarter decisions before formal requirements were ever defined. 'At CACI, we're always looking to invest ahead of need, and I try to reflect that same mindset in my work,' she said. 'By bringing in expertise from every group involved and keeping communication open with the customer, we drive smarter, more efficient outcomes.' It is no secret that Natasha has helped position CACI for future opportunities. Under her direction, the Williamsburg program's annual revenue surged more than five times over, contributing significantly to the company's overall growth in 2024. Natasha's standout performance on the Williamsburg program recently led to her taking on management of another program supporting the IC — a testament to the trust she's earned and the results she delivers. For her extraordinary impact, Natasha was recently named a 2025 Women in Technology Awards finalist in the Unsung Hero category. 'CACI's culture of character and innovation has shaped how I lead,' said Natasha. 'I've had the autonomy to make bold decisions, the support to keep growing, and the opportunity to help others do the same. It's a place where your potential really is limitless.' Natasha's leadership extends well beyond program delivery. Known for her integrity and generosity, she's an advocate for growth — both personal and professional. Whether she's mentoring early-career employees or helping colleagues find new paths forward, she leads with care. This past summer, Natasha and the Williamsburg team were assisted by five CACI interns; Natasha ensured that each one gained experience that mattered. 'We gave them real projects with real impact,' she said. 'They didn't just observe, they contributed. And in doing so, they strengthened our team, helped our customer, and left with skills they could take anywhere.' Natasha also plays an active role in building CACI's local culture. As part of the Williamsburg campus events committee, she helps organize everything from intern lunches to end-of-summer barbecues, creating connection points for a campus of more than 500 employees. 'I'm committed to fostering an environment where people feel supported to grow,' she said. 'At CACI, we're not just delivering results — we're building a community that reflects our shared values.' With a career that blends technical leadership, mentoring, and community building, Natasha proves you don't have to choose between doing meaningful work and making a lasting difference. At CACI, you can do both. Explore opportunities at CACI. About CACI At CACI International Inc (NYSE: CACI), our 25,000 talented and dynamic employees are ever vigilant in delivering distinctive expertise and differentiated technology to meet our customers' greatest challenges in national security. We are a company of good character, relentless innovation, and long-standing excellence. Our culture drives our success and earns us recognition as a Fortune World's Most Admired Company. CACI is a member of the Fortune 500™list of largest companies, the Russell 1000 Index, and the S&P MidCap 400 Index. For more information, visit us at There are statements made herein which do not address historical facts, and therefore could be interpreted to be forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in CACI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and other such filings that CACI makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Any forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon and only speak as of the date hereof. # # # Corporate Communications and Media: Lorraine Corcoran Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications (703) 434-4165, [email protected] Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from CACI
Fox News
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
CNN hosts dismiss new Russiagate evidence as 'distraction' from Epstein files: Shouldn't 'even be repeating'
CNN hosts dismissed Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's Wednesday press conference about the Obama administration's role in perpetuating Russiagate as a distraction part of a retribution campaign. Gabbard doubled down at a White House press briefing Wednesday, alleging the Obama administration promoted a "contrived narrative" that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Numerous Democratic Party figures were named in the briefing where she declared, "There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false." Gabbard also brought up a newly declassified intelligence report's findings claiming Russia had intelligence that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was taking "heavy tranquilizers," which former President Barack Obama and Democratic Party leaders allegedly found to be "extraordinarily alarming." CNN host Brianna Keilar said the claims laid out by Gabbard were part of Trump's efforts to "change the topic" from questions about the Epstein files, using Russiagate narratives to "chum the waters." She then turned to CNN's chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny to "talk us through a little bit about this issue, but also what it's distracting from." "The bottom line to all of this is, this is the retribution campaign that President Trump has long promised, and it's a new distraction campaign that he is eagerly hoping works to avoid questions and move on from questions about Jeffrey Epstein," Zeleny said. "Retribution, obviously, to Hillary Clinton, and distracting, trying to change the subject." Gabbard delivering this particular message, he said, is a cynical ploy to win back the base. "There is no better way to get back in the good graces, or try at least try to do so, than embrace one of the president's largely conspiracy theories and just the favorite old tropes going back to the 2016 campaign," he said. Zeleny went on to dismiss the allegations as not even worth repeating. "But we should point out that these are some pretty far out-there allegations. Saying the Russian intelligence community had information that Hillary Clinton was on tranquilizers at the time. This was in no way verified. We have no idea. I mean, this is hardly information that we should even be repeating," Zeleny said. "Never mind that it's, you know, some years after the fact, eight years, more than that, after the fact, but also just look at the source," he added. "But look, this is what this White House wants to talk about, and I'm not sure that we should spend that much more time on it, frankly." The White House told Fox News Digital that "fake news CNN" can't stand that "President Trump was proven right again." "Director Gabbard declassified documents in the name of transparency to show the world that the Obama administration was indeed behind the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. Those who participated in criminal activity will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," – White House spokesperson Davis R. Ingle told Fox News Digital. Trump has alienated parts of his base in recent weeks, as he has gotten involved in foreign wars and denied the existence of the Epstein list, breaking key promises of his campaign. Trump, in turn, has disavowed parts of his base, ranging from acknowledging he will upset the "radical right" by allowing illegal immigrant workers to stay in the country to telling conservatives focused on Epstein, "I don't want their support anymore!"
