It’s been nearly three weeks since Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard unveiled a report with a title that read, “Declassified Evidence of Obama Administration Conspiracy to Subvert President Trump’s 2016 Victory and Presidency.” In an accompanying press release, the beleaguered DNI added, “The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government.”
In reality, the report showed no such thing, and independent analyses characterized Gabbard’s report as “ludicrous.” An analysis from The Bulwark explained, “[E]ven a cursory look at the actual substance of Gabbard’s dramatic claims shows … a nothingburger. There is no actual substance.” Officials from Democratic and Republican administrations urged the public to recognize Gabbard’s conspiracy theories as obvious nonsense.
But according to new reporting from The Washington Post, the controversial intelligence director hasn’t just faced widespread pushback after making her highly dubious allegations, she also reportedly faced pushback before making her highly dubious allegations. From the Post’s article:
The Trump administration pushed to unveil a highly classified document on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election after an intense behind-the-scenes struggle over secrecy, which ended in late July when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a minimally redacted version of the report, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
The Post’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that when the CIA and other intelligence agencies argued internally that more of the document should remain classified to obscure U.S. spy agencies’ sources and methods, Gabbard overrode them — “with the blessing of President Donald Trump.” (Update: After this piece was published, NBC News did confirm the Post’s reporting.)
The revelations are dramatic, though elements of this are not entirely surprising. Indeed, it’s worth emphasizing that Gabbard’s discredited conclusion — that Russia never targeted the U.S. political system during the 2016 campaign and made no effort to help Trump win — doesn’t just contradict the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and a parallel investigation from the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee.
Her findings were also at odds with the findings of the CIA. Indeed, literally the week before Gabbard brought her claims to the public, Trump’s handpicked CIA director, John Ratcliffe, released the results of an investigation that endorsed the agency’s earlier conclusions about Russia targeting the U.S. elections in 2016. (That said, the Post’s report noted that Ratcliffe endorsed Gabbard’s efforts. For its part, the White House did not respond to requests for comment.)
What is surprising, however, is that U.S. intelligence officials urged the intelligence director not to move forward with her political plans, and Gabbard decided to ignore them, reinforcing concerns that the DNI is prioritizing a political vendetta over the nation’s intelligence needs.
Just as notably, some of the intelligence officials whose concerns were rejected apparently reached out to the Washington Post — suggesting they want the world to know about Gabbard’s recklessness.
Nevertheless, as the DNI’s efforts start to look even worse, Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed Justice Department prosecutors to launch a grand jury investigation based on Gabbard’s claims. NBC News spoke to a former senior Justice Department official who condemned the move as “a dangerous political stunt.” A former senior national security official pointed out that multiple past reviews, including ones conducted by Republicans, found no wrongdoing. “There’s no logical, rational basis for this,” the official added. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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