Latest news with #Russia-Trump
Mint
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Did Obama White House fake Russian interference intel? Grand jury probe ordered
Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered the Justice Department to investigate how the Trump-Russia probe began, after new documents were released that question the 'legitimacy of the inquiry', which had claimed that Russia interfered to help Trump in the 2016 election. The new investigation has been launched to determined whether the members of the Obama administration manufactured the reports of Russian interference in the election. Pam Bondi has instructed a prosecutor to present evidence to a grand jury following referrals from the Trump administration's top intelligence official. The decision comes after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard referred the case, citing declassified documents released in July that she claims challenge the Obama administration's findings that Russia aimed to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton. Also Read | Explosive report fuels Trump's call for Hillary Clinton to 'pay a big price' over Russia hoax According to a CNN report, Tulsi Gabbard has requested the department to investigate former President Barack Obama and top officials in his administration for an alleged conspiracy. On Truth Social, Donald Trump had recently declared the 24-page document proves the scandal is "TOTALLY UNDISPUTED" and "the biggest in American History," demanding perpetrators 'pay a big price' . The annex, released by Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, details emails suggesting Hillary Clinton approved a strategy to 'distract people from her own missing email' by amplifying Russia-Trump allegations. What is not known? It was not clear which former officials might be the target of any grand jury activity, where the grand jury that might ultimately hear evidence will be located or which prosecutors – whether career employees or political appointees – might be involved in pursuing the investigation. It was also not clear what precise claims of misconduct Trump administration officials believe could form the basis of criminal charges, which a grand jury would have to sign off on for an indictment to be issued. The initial findings had led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who secured several convictions of Trump associates but found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Moscow. The investigation had shadowed much of Trump's first term in office. A new outcry surfaced last week when Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a set of emails that FBI Director Kash Patel claimed on social media proved that the 'Clinton campaign plotted to frame President Trump and fabricate the Russia collusion hoax.' (With inputs from The Assosciated Press)
Time of India
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Russiagate 'hoax': Attorney General Pam Bondi orders grand jury probe of Obama officials- Report
United States attorney general Pam Bondi directed her staff on Monday to proceed with the criminal referral from director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard concerning the alleged Russia-Trump conspiracy, Fox News Digital reported adding that the department of Justice is initiating a grand jury investigation into this matter. According to a letter reviewed by Fox News Digital and information from a source close to the investigation, Bondi has authorised an unnamed federal prosecutor to begin legal proceedings. The prosecutor will present evidence to a grand jury, potentially leading to an indictment. while declining to comment specifically on the investigation, a DOJ spokesperson confirmed that Bondi is treating Gabbard's referral with utmost importance. The spokesperson indicated that Bondi identified significant reasons for concern and the necessity for further action. The DOJ acknowledged receiving Gabbard's criminal referral two weeks prior. The referral included documentation regarding the Intelligence Community's alleged suppression of evidence showing that Russian and criminal activities did not affect the 2016 presidential election through cyber-attacks. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo No charges have been filed at this point against any potential defendants. This development follows Gabbard's July declassification of intelligence, which provided fresh perspectives on the Obama administration's alleged assessment that Russia aimed to assist Trump in the 2016 election. According to Gabbard's press briefing, the Obama administration allegedly promoted an artificial narrative about Russian interference favouring Trump's victory. The declassified materials included records of Obama requesting his deputies to prepare a December 2016 intelligence assessment regarding Moscow's electoral influence methods. The assessment concluded that whilst Russian actions aimed to create distrust in democratic processes, they did not affect the election outcome. Gabbard has suggested that Obama and his national security officials established the foundation for allegations of Trump-Russia collusion. The scope and potential charges of the grand jury investigation remain uncertain, particularly given that statutes of limitations have expired for many activities from nearly ten years ago. Former Obama intelligence officials, including John Brennan, James Clapper and James Comey, have faced scrutiny regarding their alleged roles in developing intelligence that challenged Trump's 2016 victory.
Mint
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Explosive report fuels Trump's call for Hillary Clinton to ‘pay a big price' over Russia hoax
US President Donald Trump intensified calls for prosecutions over the "Russia hoax" after Thursday's release of a declassified Durham report annex alleging Hillary Clinton's campaign planned to smear him with unverified Russia collusion claims in 2016. On Truth Social, Trump declared the 24-page document proves the scandal is "TOTALLY UNDISPUTED" and "the biggest in American History," demanding perpetrators "pay a big price" . The annex, released by Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, details emails suggesting Clinton approved a strategy to "distract people from her own missing email" by amplifying Russia-Trump allegations. This follows July's release of a House Intel report questioning CIA methods behind the 2017 Russia assessment. The Durham annex cites emails attributed to Open Society Foundations' Leonard Benardo describing a plot allegedly hatched by Clinton foreign policy adviser Julianne Smith. One July 2016 email claims Smith devised a "long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump," while another states "HRC approved Julia's idea" to frame Russian hacking as election interference. Benardo told investigators he didn't recall the emails, while Open Society dismissed them as 'malicious disinformation traced to Russian intelligence'. Durham noted the emails appeared to be Russian-hacked composites from U.S. think tanks. The documents allege Obama administration officials enabled the narrative: A March 2016 memo claims President Obama "sanctioned administrative levers" to protect Clinton's email investigation and pressured then-FBI Director James Comey through Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Durham found former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe shared Clinton campaign memos with DOJ officials in 2016, potentially laying groundwork for investigations. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard—who last week accused Obama of a 'treasonous conspiracy', stated the annex reveals 'a coordinated plan to destroy Donald Trump's presidency'. However, critics note Durham's report admits investigators couldn't verify if the Benardo emails were "genuine," "exaggerated," or 'fabricated'. Senator Chuck Grassley hailed the release as exposing "one of the biggest political scandals in American history," while Bondi pledged continued transparency. According to an Al Jazeera report, Obama's office dismissed Gabbard's earlier claims as "bizarre," maintaining Russia's 2016 interference remains 'widely accepted'. Former prosecutor Peter Baker warned the "evil" rhetoric risks normalizing dangerous politicization, citing Trump's recent AI-generated video of Obama in handcuffs . With Trump vowing prosecutions, this 9-year-old election battle now fuels fresh Washington warfare .
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Explained: How Tulsi Gabbard's House Intelligence Committee report challenges Obama officials' Russia narrative - and gives Trump new ammunition
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard There are stories that refuse to stay buried. This one comes wrapped in a manila folder, half-burnt, half-declassified, and now very much a political grenade. This week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard blew the dust off a long-suppressed House Intelligence Committee report that takes aim at one of the most sacred narratives of American liberal orthodoxy: that Russia wanted Donald Trump to win in 2016. What Gabbard released wasn't just a report—it was a Molotov cocktail thrown at the edifice of the Obama-era intelligence establishment. The fallout? A Justice Department task force has now been formed to examine whether Obama officials weaponised intelligence to launch what Gabbard calls a 'treasonous conspiracy' against Trump. The phrase may be incendiary—but the allegations are dead serious. TL;DR Gabbard has declassified a once-classified House Intelligence Committee report that disputes the 2016 intelligence claim that Putin favoured Trump. The report argues the original assessment relied on flimsy, biased, and unverifiable intelligence—some of which CIA analysts reportedly tried to block. Gabbard accuses the Obama administration of orchestrating a politically motivated 'manufacturing' of the Russia-Trump narrative. The Department of Justice has created a dedicated task force to investigate the origins and legality of the intelligence assessment. The report had been withheld for years due to internal CIA opposition and concerns over revealing sources and methods. What's in the Report? The document, first drafted in 2017 but buried for years, focuses on four key 'evidentiary' pieces that allegedly supported the claim that Putin wanted Trump to win. According to the report: One was the now-discredited Steele Dossier. Another was an email with no author, recipient, or date. A third was a sentence fragment that even CIA analysts couldn't decipher. The fourth was a mosaic of press clippings, out-of-date liaison intel, and Russian punditry that made no direct mention of Trump. Even Brennan's handpicked CIA analysts were reportedly uneasy. Two warned that the conclusions about Putin's motives did not meet standard tradecraft. Their warnings were dismissed. When one raised doubts about the Steele Dossier's credibility, former CIA Director John Brennan is said to have replied, 'Yes, but doesn't it ring true?' The report itself was compiled by a team of investigators assigned by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under then-chairman Devin Nunes. The team included career intelligence experts and legal analysts who conducted an exhaustive 2,300-hour review of classified source material, much of it at CIA headquarters. Among the key drafters was Kash Patel , now serving as Trump's FBI Director. The report underwent multiple revisions through 2020 but was kept classified until Gabbard ordered its release in 2025. This internal dissent was overruled. The resulting Intelligence Community Assessment was published in January 2017 and became the foundation for years of investigations, op-eds, and cable news hysteria. But now, in Gabbard's telling, it all began with smoke and mirrors. Why Was It Suppressed? The report was finished in 2017 and updated in 2020, but it never saw the light of day. Intelligence officials, particularly within the CIA, objected to its release on the grounds that it could expose sources and methods. Others within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reportedly feared it would embarrass senior figures from the Obama era—including Brennan, Clapper, and Comey. It remained locked in a secure facility, reportedly at CIA headquarters, until Gabbard—at Trump's urging—ordered its release in 2025. The irony, of course, is rich: a report about politicisation being suppressed for political reasons. What Is the Justice Department Doing? In a brief but pointed announcement, the Department of Justice confirmed the formation of a new task force to investigate the origins of the 2016 ICA and any unlawful actions tied to its development or dissemination. While the statement avoided inflammatory language, officials privately admit the probe could extend to former intelligence leaders—and even the former president himself. Gabbard has claimed that she has referred specific documents and findings to the FBI. Trump, for his part, has called the revelations 'proof of treason.' Aides say further disclosures may follow, depending on how the Justice Department proceeds. For now, the task force is in evidence-gathering mode. But subpoenas, depositions, and closed-door hearings are widely expected in the coming weeks. Why It Matters 1. It reframes the entire Russia-Trump narrative If the ICA's core conclusion was politically driven or based on unreliable intel, years of investigations, impeachments, and prosecutions are thrown into question. 2. It strikes at the credibility of Obama-era intelligence leaders Comey, Brennan, Clapper—all played key roles in shaping public understanding of the Russia probe. This report casts a shadow over their decisions and internal judgment. 3. It underscores the risk of politicised intelligence The line between analysis and advocacy is supposed to be sacred. If Gabbard's accusations hold, that line was obliterated. 4. It raises questions about oversight and transparency Why was a congressional report hidden from the public for nearly eight years? And what else remains under lock and key? 5. It revives Trump's case against the so-called 'deep state' Just as the Epstein files threatened to swamp him, Trump now has a new narrative: he was the victim of a fabricated intelligence coup. From Baghdad to Steele: A Pattern of Manufactured Consent? In a blistering thread, journalist Matt Taibbi draws a direct parallel between the Steele Dossier and the Iraq War's false WMD claims, alleging that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials knowingly pushed flawed information to damage Donald Trump. According to Taibbi, FBI analysts were ordered to 'push' the Steele material despite raising concerns about its credibility. When confronted about its flaws, CIA Director John Brennan reportedly brushed them aside with the comment, 'Yes, but doesn't it ring true?' FBI Director James Comey insisted the dossier was 'important' enough to include in official briefings. Taibbi highlights how James Clapper, who previously admitted to finding things that 'weren't really there' during the Iraq WMD fiasco, played a similar role in amplifying the dossier's claims. Taibbi argues this was not just a case of bad intelligence but a deliberate, coordinated effort to mislead—one that ruined reputations, sowed division, and paralyzed the country, all based on what now appears to have been a demonstrable lie. FAQ Did Russia interfere in the 2016 election? Yes. The new report does not challenge the existence of interference—it questions the claim that Putin had a 'clear preference' for Trump. Does this exonerate Trump? Politically, perhaps. Legally, not necessarily. But it does challenge the legitimacy of the foundational intelligence that led to years of investigations. Why did the Steele Dossier matter? Though officials now claim it played no role in the ICA's analytic judgments, the report reveals that it was cited in the classified annex and used to shape the context of the assessment. Was Brennan warned? Yes. The report suggests multiple analysts raised concerns about the dossier and other evidence. Brennan overruled them. What happens next? Expect subpoenas, hearings, and intense media crossfire. Trump allies are already calling for charges against Brennan and Comey. Obama's role will likely come under scrutiny. Final Word For years, critics of the Russia-Trump narrative were dismissed as conspiracy theorists. With Tulsi Gabbard's release of the suppressed report and the Justice Department now on the case, the conspiracy may have finally become the headline. The question is no longer whether Russia interfered—but whether America's own intelligence agencies played politics with the truth.
