Russiagate – Obama’s Coup Against Trump?

I have to admit, I have been cynical of the power emanating from Washington since I was in college, all too many years ago. And I will go one step further in disclosing that I had little confidence in any of the egregious wrongs committed by Washington official elites over the past decade ever being rectified by any form of a reckoning. My impression was that the “Deep State’ was too entrenched within the power architecture to ever be uprooted, much less brought to justice. My skepticism was such that the Trump administration would become sidetracked — if not actually sidelined — by the perennial power brokers of the “swamp.” But alas, I stand corrected — there is hope, indeed. And Tulsi Gabbard’s disclosures Friday provide impetus for that reassessment.

Declassified documents reveal top Obama-era officials suppressed intelligence findings to manufacture the ‘Russiagate’ narrative.

It appears that former President Barack Obama’s administration deliberately altered intelligence in a ploy to falsely accuse Russia of allegedly interfering in the 2016 presidential election, according to newly declassified documents released Friday by Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

Gabbard unveiled more than 100 pages of emails, memos, and internal communications, referring to it as “overwhelming evidence” of a coordinated effort by senior Obama-era officials to falsify and then politicize intelligence thereby launching the multi-year Trump–Russia collusion investigation. She characterized it as a “treasonous conspiracy to subvert the will of the American people.”

The scandal severely damaged relations between Moscow and Washington, ultimately leading to sanctions, asset seizures and a breakdown in normal diplomacy – all of which increased during the four years of the Biden administration.

Gabbard posted on X:

“Americans will finally learn the truth about how in 2016, intelligence was politicized and weaponized by the most powerful people in the Obama Administration to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President @realDonaldTrump, subverting the will of the American people and undermining our democratic republic.”

“This intelligence was weaponized,” Gabbard said. “It was used as a justification for endless smears, for sanctions from Congress, and for covert investigations.” She added: “When key internal assessments found that Russia ‘did not impact recent U.S. election results,’ those findings were suppressed.”

“For months before the 2016 election, the Intelligence Community determined that Russia lacked both the intent and capability to hack [intervene] in U.S. elections,” Gabbard noted. “But once President Trump won, everything changed.”

One document — a draft of the President’s Daily Brief dated December 8, 2016 — stated clearly that Russia “did not impact recent U.S. election results” through cyberattacks. The report, prepared by the CIA, NSA, FBI, DHS and other agencies, found no evidence of interference in America’s electoral process.

Yet, Fox News reported on Friday that the document was withdrawn from further consideration — “based on new guidance,” according to internal emails. Within hours, a high-level Situation Room meeting took place, attended by officials including DNI James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

According to declassified notes from the meeting, attendees agreed to produce a new intelligence assessment at President Obama’s request. The subsequent report, released on January 6, 2017, claimed Russia had intervened in the election to aid Donald Trump — directly contradicting earlier accepted assessments.

Gabbard asserts that the revised assessment relied heavily on the now-discredited “Steele Dossier” — compiled by a former British MI6 intelligence officer — while diminishing dissenting views within the intelligence apparatus. “This was not intelligence gathering,” Gabbard charged. “It was narrative building.”

The Radcliffe Review

Further corroborating evidence from the office of current CIA Director John Radcliffe suggests that some of the highest-ranking officials in the Obama-era CIA and FBI perjured themselves regarding their claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin helped Donald Trump secure his victory in 2016.

A newly released CIA review challenges their sworn denials to Congress that the Steele dossier – a discredited set of allegations about Trump funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign – was used as the basis for the years-long Russiagate probe that hamstrung President Trump’s first term.

The eight-page review conducted by career CIA analysts found the dossier did, in fact, find its way into the text of the highly classified report known as an Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) to buttress the thinly sourced, yet inflammatory allegation that “Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances.”

Gabbard confirms she has forwarded the revealing documents to the Department of Justice. Moreover, she has urged investigations into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, who are already reportedly facing criminal inquiries.

“No matter how powerful, every person involved must be brought to justice,” she stressed. “Our nation’s integrity depends on accountability.”

“The integrity of our democratic republic depends on full accountability,” Gabbard concluded. “Nothing less will restore the public’s trust — and ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

Reacting to the news of the investigation, Trump said he thinks “they’re very dishonest people.” In fact, he said, “I think they’re crooked as hell…and maybe they have to pay a price for that.”

Let’s hope so.