Latest news with #OfficeoftheDirectorofNationalIntelligence
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
White House sends mixed signals in Russia 'hoax' blame game
The White House is claiming that Russia was attempting to sow "distrust and chaos," even as reports from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence suggest the Obama administration "manipulated" Russian interference to undercut Trump's win in 2016. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio's position when he led the Senate Intelligence Committee fell in line with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's new findings. "He said what they found is troubling," Leavitt said, while standing beside Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard at a Wednesday White House press briefing. "We found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling, which the director of national intelligence just confirmed for all of you that Russia was trying to sow distrust and chaos." "What's the outrage in this – that Secretary Rubio did not say at the time, the Democrats were saying at the time – is the fact that the intelligence community was concocting this narrative that the president colluded with the Russians, that the president's son was holding secret meetings with the Russians, all of these lies that were never true," she continued. In 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Sen. Rubio, released a report finding "irrefutable evidence" of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Now, Gabbard claims Obama officials manipulated intelligence to undermine Trump's victory by playing up Russia's actions during the 2016 election. But, Rubio said at the time, "We can say, without any hesitation, that the Committee found absolutely no evidence that then-candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election." He added that the report had found "deeply troubling actions" on behalf of the FBI, "particularly their acceptance and willingness to rely on the 'Steele Dossier' without verifying its methodology or sourcing." The Steele dossier was funded by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee through the law firm Perkins Coie. Documents recently released by Gabbard found intelligence showing Russian actors did not impact the 2016 election had been "suppressed." The Obama administration "manufactured and politicized intelligence" to create the narrative that Russia was attempting to influence the 2016 presidential election, despite information from the intelligence community stating otherwise, Gabbard claimed. Gabbard also said the declassified documents have been shared with the Department of Justice and the FBI so those agencies can evaluate if any criminal implications stemming from the materials are warranted. Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush responded to the DNI claims: "Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction." "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," he added. Rubio's office referred Fox News Digital to Leavitt's comments. Documents stated that intelligence officials had found Russia was "probably not trying… to influence the election by using cyber means." One instance was on Dec. 7, 2016, weeks after the election. Then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's talking points stated: "Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. presidential election outcome." A presidential daily brief prepared for President Barack Obama in 2016 assessed: "Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure." But, the brief found, "Russian Government-affiliated actors most likely compromised an Illinois voter registration database and unsuccessfully attempted the same in other states." The brief stated that it was "highly unlikely" the effort "would have resulted in altering any state's official vote result." "Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes," it stated. The brief said the office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed Russian activities "probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates." Obama officials then "leaked false statements to media outlets," according to Gabbard's office, claiming, "Russia has attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election."
Int'l Business Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
White House Demands Reporters' Pulitzer Prizes Be Stripped for 'Perpetuating a Hoax'
The White House demanded that journalists who won Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election have their awards stripped for "perpetuating a hoax." Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt bashed reporters during a White House press briefing Wednesday following a release from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence claiming to have uncovered "overwhelming evidence" that the reports were "manufactured" by former President Barack Obama. "This is truly one of the greatest political scandals in American history, and reporters at legacy outlets, some of which are sitting in this room today like the New York Times and the Washington Post were ridiculously awarded Pulitzer Prizes for their perpetuation of this hoax. It is well past time for those awards to be stripped from the journalists who received them," she said. The Washington Post and the New York Times both won a Pulitzer for National Reporting in 2018 for their coverage of the interference. Despite reports and conclusions from American intelligence and Department of Justice officials, President Donald Trump has continued to claim there was no interference. He previously requested that the Pulitzer Board take back the awards, but his appeal was denied, the New York Times reported in 2022. "It is not journalism to propagate political disinformation in service of the Democrat Party and those in the intelligence community who hand over out of context and fake intelligence to push a false political narrative," Leavitt continued. While Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's office claimed the Obama administration laid the groundwork for "a years-long coup against President Trump," the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation was actually led by Republicans. The 2020 report agreed with the results of a 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, which concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a campaign to spread disinformation to hurt Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign. Obama's office said in a statement that although it "does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House ... these claims are outrageous enough to merit one," before calling the Trump administration's release "ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction." The Trump administration has been under intense fire recently over the handling of the files on Jeffrey Epstein, following a report by the DOJ and FBI declaring that he had killed himself and had no client list. However, Trump called for "Grand Jury testimony" to be procured and released with a judge's approval after the Wall Street Journal reported that the president previously sent Epstein a drawing of a naked woman in a birthday message. Trump has denied the article's claims. Gabbard defended her office's release, stating on Newsmax Tuesday night, "We will be releasing further documents tomorrow that will refute that statement." Originally published on Latin Times
Jordan News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Jordan News
Obama Responds to Allegations His Administration Suppressed Intel to Push Trump-Russia Collusion Narrative
Former U.S. President Barack Obama's office has dismissed as 'absurd and a distraction attempt' recent allegations that his administration suppressed intelligence to promote the narrative of Russian collusion in Donald Trump's 2016 election win. اضافة اعلان In the first official response to a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and former President Donald Trump, accusing the Obama administration of fabricating intelligence to undermine Trump's victory, Obama's office described the claims as shameful and ridiculous. 'Out of respect for the office of the presidency, we usually don't comment on the constant stream of nonsense and misinformation coming from the White House,' Obama's office stated. 'But these particular claims are outrageous enough to merit a response. They are bizarre, absurd, and a flimsy attempt to distract the public.' The statement emphasized that nothing in the document released last week undermines the long-standing conclusion that Russia did attempt to interfere in the 2016 election, although it did not succeed in altering any votes. This conclusion was also affirmed in a 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio, which confirmed Russia's interference attempts but found no evidence of vote manipulation. The controversy follows a new intelligence report accusing the Obama administration of suppressing contradictory intelligence in 2016 and pushing a politically driven assessment to link Trump's victory to Moscow. Recently declassified documents, released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, allege that senior Obama administration officials suppressed intel that contradicted the Russia-interference narrative. These documents reportedly show that a politically motivated intelligence assessment was launched just weeks before Obama left office, in coordination with officials including John Brennan, James Clapper, and James Comey. One intelligence briefing draft from December 2016—which stated that Russian cyber activities had no direct impact on the election outcome—was allegedly withdrawn at the last minute and replaced following a secret White House meeting chaired by Obama. Gabbard described the effort as "weaponizing intelligence for political purposes," citing discredited sources such as the Steele dossier, which helped shape official conclusions. She further claimed there was a "conspiracy involving top-level Obama White House officials," vowing to hand over all evidence to the Department of Justice. Adding fuel to the controversy, Trump recently posted an AI-generated video on Truth Social, showing federal agents arresting and imprisoning Barack Obama.
News18
23-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
'Weak Attempt At Distraction': Obama On Trump's Allegations Of Russian Interference In 2016 Polls
Barack Obama's office rejected Donald Trump's treason accusations, reiterating that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election but did not manipulate votes. The office of US Democratic former President Barack Obama on Tuesday said that a document issued last week by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence does not undercut the conclusion that Russia tried to influence the 2016 US election. The document, however, did not manipulate any votes, it said. The development came after US President Donald Trump accused Obama of 'treason" on Tuesday, blaming him for leading an effort to falsely tie him to Russia and undermine his 2016 presidential campaign. '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," Obama's office said in a statement. 'These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction," Obama's office said. While Trump has frequently attacked Obama by name, the Republican President has not, since returning to office in January, gone this far in pointing the finger at his Democratic predecessor with allegations of criminal action, Reuters reported. She declassified documents and said the information she was releasing showed a 'treasonous conspiracy" in 2016 by top Obama administration officials to undermine Trump, claims that Democrats called false and politically motivated. 'It's there, he's guilty. This was treason," Trump said on Tuesday, though he offered no proof of his claims. 'They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody's ever imagined, even in other countries." THE DOCUMENT An assessment by the US intelligence community published in January 2017 concluded that Russia, using social media disinformation, hacking and Russian bot farms, sought to damage Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign and bolster Trump. The assessment determined that the actual impact was likely limited and showed no evidence that Moscow's efforts actually changed voting outcomes. A 2020 bipartisan report by the Senate intelligence committee had found that Russia used Republican political operative Paul Manafort, the WikiLeaks website and others to try to influence the 2016 election to help Trump's campaign. view comments First Published: July 23, 2025, 08:53 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Hindu
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Obama reiterates conclusion of attempted Russian interference in 2016 election
The office of U.S. Democratic former President Barack Obama said on Tuesday (July 22, 2025) that a document issued last week by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence does not undercut the conclusion that Russia tried to influence the 2016 U.S. election but that it did not manipulate any votes. "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," Mr. Obama's office said in a statement. President Donald Trump accused Mr. Obama of "treason" on Tuesday, blaming him for leading an effort to falsely tie him to Russia and undermine his 2016 presidential campaign. "These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction," Obama's office said.
