Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has accused mainstream liberal media outlets of ignoring a declassified report on alleged Obama administration manufactured intelligence behind the Trump-Russia investigation. She argues that the media’s silence and lack of coverage of the findings, which reveal ‘overwhelming evidence’ of a pre-planned probe, reflects complicity in spreading unvetted information. Gabbard drew parallels between the media’s current behavior and its past role in promoting false intelligence about Iraq’s WMDs to justify war in the Middle East.
De-classified documents revealed that former President Barack Obama and his national security team laid the groundwork for what would be the years-long Trump-Russia collusion probe after Trump’s victory in the 2016 election. Gabbard’s comments followed her de-classification of the report, which she claims shows ‘overwhelming evidence’ of a orchestrated effort to create a narrative of Russian influence on the election. Gabbard criticized media outlets for their refusal to cover the story, calling their absence ‘deafening.’
The intelligence chief compared the media’s current silence on the damning intelligence report to its past role in promoting the ‘manufactured false intelligence’ about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction to garner support for war in the Middle East. Gabbard questioned how many media outlets had ever admitted they were wrong for spreading such intelligence, noting the parallels as a wake-up call for American citizens to consider the broader implications for the democratic republic’s integrity.
Former President Barack Obama responded to the de-classification of the Trump-Russia report, issuing a rare public statement that labeled the Trump administration’s allegations as ‘bizarre’ and a ‘weak attempt at distraction.’ He claimed that the findings were affirmed in a 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio. However, Gabbard argued that his ‘carefully constructed’ response failed to address the actual revelations from the declassified report, deflecting from the truth that has been exposed.
While the DNI’s comments have sparked significant debate, they also highlight the deepening divide between political figures and media institutions over the handling of sensitive intelligence matters. The situation underscores the ongoing challenges concerning the transparency, integrity, and accountability of both government institutions and news organizations in a polarized political climate.