Declassified Documents Reveal "Treasonous Conspiracy" Allegations Against Obama Officials

Newly unsealed documents released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard claim to show evidence of a "treasonous conspiracy" by top Obama administration officials to manufacture the notion that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. However, a review of a GOP-led Senate investigation from 2020 and interviews with congressional sources familiar with the probe reveal that the allegations conflate and misrepresent what the intelligence community actually concluded.

Key Takeaways:

• The January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment focused on Russia's influence campaign ordered by President Vladimir Putin and cyber operations against US and Democratic Party officials, including the hacked emails released by WikiLeaks.
• Gabbard's allegations that the intelligence community's conclusion on Russia's election interference relied on the Steele dossier are disputed by congressional sources, who state that the dossier did not inform the analysis.
• The Senate Intelligence Committee's 2020 review agreed with the intelligence community's conclusions on Russia's election interference and Putin's role directing the effort, with unanimous bipartisan support.
• Gabbard's declassified document release is part of a pattern of Trump administration officials trying to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation.
• Trump and his allies have spent years trying to denigrate all aspects of the Russia investigation, including the 2017 intelligence assessment, special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, and the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

Statistics:

• The January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment concluded that Russia launched an influence and hacking campaign and sought to help Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.
• 95% of the Senate Intelligence Committee's 2020 review found that Putin interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Trump.
• 11 pages of memo accompanying the declassified documents list emails from intelligence officials stating that foreign adversaries did not have the capability to "covertly overturn the vote outcome."
• The CIA released a review last month that criticized the intelligence community's conclusion that Putin sought to help Trump, stating that it was reached "through an atypical & corrupt process."

Sources:

• CNN
• January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment
• 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee review
• Comments from congressional sources familiar with the Senate probe
• Statement from Virginia Sen. Mark Warner