Director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Dishes on Russia Investigation

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard doubled on Wednesday during a White House press briefing, alleging that the Obama administration promoted an “artificial story” that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections.

“There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team led the creation of a community intelligence assessment they knew how to be false,” said Gabbard. “They knew that it would promote this artificial story that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections to help President Trump win, selling the American people as if it were true. It was not the case.”

Gabbard’s comments come in the middle of the declassification of a mine of documents from the American intelligence community which alleges that the Obama administration has politicized intelligence and that the American intelligence organizations had no direct information that the Russian president Vladimir Putin sought to support the election of Trump in 2016.

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National intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard speaks during a press briefing at the White House on July 23, 2025.

“All come back and confirm the same report: there has been a coarse politicization and manipulation of the Obama administration intended to delegitimize President Trump even before its inauguration, ultimately usurping the will of the American people,” said Gabbard.

Gabbard also said that the declassified documents had been shared with the Ministry of Justice and the FBI so that these agencies can assess whether criminal implications arising from materials are justified.

“We have referred and will continue to refer all these documents to the Ministry of Justice and the FBI, to investigate the criminal implications of this for the proof,” said Gabbard. “Correct. The evidence that we have found and that we have published directly indicate President Obama leading the manufacture of this intelligence assessment. There are several evidence and information that confirm this fact.”

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of being the “leader” of investigations on the question of whether his campaign knew a collus with Russia in the 2016 elections.

The Obama Administration Administration “made” the interference story of the 2016 Russian elections, the documents show

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of being the “leader” of investigations on the question of whether his campaign knew a collus with Russia in the 2016 elections. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

In response, an Obama spokesman described the accusations of “bizarre” and said that new documents do not change the conclusions of previous information assessments, including a 2020 report of the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by the Secretary of the State Marco Rubio.

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“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally worthy of the constant nonsense and the disinformation that leaves this white house with an answer,” said Obama spokesperson, Patrick Rodenbush, in a statement. “But these claims are scandalous enough to deserve one.”

“These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a low attempted distraction,” said Rodenbush. “Nothing in the document published last week divides the conclusion widely accepted according to which Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but failed to manipulate votes.”

A spokesperson for Obama did not immediately respond to a request for comments from Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Obama did not immediately respond to a request for comments from Fox News Digital on Wednesday. (Spencer Platt / Getty images)

The newly declassified documents appoint Obama, in addition to other administration officials, including the national director of national intelligence James Clapper, CIA director John Brennan, national security advisor Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Deputy Director of FBI Andrew McCabe.

Fox News Digital previously pointed out that Gabbard had sent a criminal referral to the Ministry of Justice concerning the newly declassified equipment, but the agency has not disclosed details concerning which the criminal reference has targeted.

The Ministry of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comments from Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

The appearance of Gabbard in front of the White House journalists intervened only a few hours after having published a report in 2020 of the Permanent Chamber Select Committee on Intelligence, which declared that the intelligence community had published “potentially biased” or “unusual” information suggesting that Putin sought to help Trump to win the election, according to “unusual” orders.

Brooke Singman and Mike Emanuel from Fox News contributed to this report.