On July 18, 2025, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard released 114 pages of emails and documents. She claims these show that officials in former President Barack Obama’s administration tried to wrongly blame Russia for Donald Trump’s win in the 2016 U.S. election.
According to Gabbard, Obama’s national security team created a false narrative that Russia interfered to help Trump. She says they used this claim to damage Trump’s presidency even before it started. Gabbard called it a “years-long coup attempt.”
The documents describe meetings after the 2016 election. They say senior Obama officials, including James Clapper, John Brennan, Susan Rice, John Kerry, and others, met to discuss creating a new intelligence assessment on Russia’s role—at President Obama’s request.
Gabbard says earlier intelligence reports showed Russia likely did not use cyberattacks to affect the vote. But a new report released in January 2017 reversed that position and accused Russia of trying to help Trump. Gabbard says this reversal was politically motivated.
The documents also accuse Obama-era officials of leaking false stories to the media. For example, some claimed Russia had tried to change the outcome of the 2016 election through hacking, even though earlier intelligence said otherwise.
Gabbard argues that this fake intelligence led to years of political damage: the Mueller investigation, Trump’s impeachments, and tensions between the U.S. and Russia.
In a statement, Gabbard said this is not a partisan issue. She called it a “treasonous conspiracy” meant to stop Trump from becoming president. She urged the Department of Justice to fully investigate and prosecute those involved.
Gabbard said:
> “The American people deserve to know the truth. I’m releasing these documents so the public can see what really happened. Every person involved must be held accountable.”
This release comes at a sensitive time, as former President Trump faces renewed media attention due to the Epstein scandal. Gabbard’s office says the timing of this release has nothing to do with that case.
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