Trump’s Intelligence Chiefs Try To Rewrite The History Of The 2016 Election

President Donald Trump’s intelligence chiefs are conducting a systematic run to rewrite nan history of nan 2016 election, seeking to reverse an eight-year-old assessment that Russia waged an accusation warfare to boost Trump’s candidacy.

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe person cited declassified emails to allege successful societal media posts and tv appearances that Obama management officials manipulated intelligence and conspired to undermine nan legitimacy of Trump’s electoral triumph successful 2016.

But a bipartisan Senate investigation successful 2020 and a caller CIA reappraisal some recovered that Russia interfered successful nan 2016 election, launching a disinformation run designed to harm Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.

A three-year investigation by typical counsel John Durham reported nary criminal conspiracy by Obama management officials to sabotage Trump, and Durham revenge nary charges against CIA officials.

On Monday, Fox News reported that Gabbard’s agency made a criminal referral to nan Justice Department related to nan 2017 intelligence appraisal of Russia’s domiciled successful nan 2016 election, without specifying nan quality of nan referral.

In an evident reference to nan report, Trump posted a clone artificial intelligence-generated video online of erstwhile President Barack Obama being led retired of nan Oval Office by police.

NBC News could not verify that nan Office of nan Director of National Intelligence had revenge a criminal referral. The Justice Department and nan National Intelligence Director’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.

Distraction from Epstein case

The allegations from Trump’s intelligence chiefs travel erstwhile Trump faces demands from galore of his supporters to merchandise files linked to financier Jeffrey Epstein. Democratic lawmakers accused nan management of seeking to distract from nan Epstein lawsuit and to “rewrite” history for partisan purposes.

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, vice chair of nan Intelligence Committee, said nan panel’s unanimous, bipartisan conclusion successful 2020 was that Russia interfered successful nan 2016 predetermination to use Trump.

“This is conscionable different illustration of nan DNI trying to navigator nan books, rewrite history, and erode spot successful nan intelligence agencies she’s expected to beryllium leading,” Warner said successful a statement, referring to Gabbard.

On Friday, Gabbard alleged that declassified emails released by her agency revealed a “treasonous conspiracy” by Obama management officials to play up Russia’s actions during nan 2016 predetermination to undermine Trump’s authority arsenic president.

“Their extremity was to subvert nan will of nan American group and enact what was fundamentally a years-long coup pinch nan nonsubjective of trying to usurp nan President from fulfilling nan instruction bestowed upon him by nan American people,” Gabbard said successful a statement. She added that “every personification progressive successful this conspiracy must beryllium investigated and prosecuted to nan fullest grade of nan law, to guarantee thing for illustration this ever happens again.”

Gabbard was referring to a U.S. intelligence appraisal successful early 2017 that Russia had tried to skew nan result of nan predetermination successful favour of Trump. Russia orchestrated a leak of stolen emails from nan Democratic National Committee and created clone societal media accounts. The 2020 Senate committee investigation, which interviewed much than 200 witnesses and reviewed a cardinal documents complete 3 years, came to nan aforesaid conclusion.

Trump’s caput of state, Marco Rubio, signed disconnected connected nan committee’s findings astatine nan time, erstwhile he was acting chair of nan Intelligence Committee.

The committee recovered nary grounds of “collusion” betwixt nan Trump run and Russia, Rubio said successful a connection aft nan study was released. But he added: “What nan Committee did find nevertheless is very troubling. We recovered irrefutable grounds of Russian meddling.”

Trump has ever bristled astatine nan thought that Russia interfered successful nan predetermination connected his behalf and has accused intelligence and FBI officials of plotting against him.

John Ratcliffe connected Capitol Hill connected Jan. 15.Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Ratcliffe and Gabbard claims

Ratcliffe, nan CIA director, released an internal agency review of nan 2017 intelligence appraisal of nan 2016 predetermination this month. The reappraisal recovered that immoderate modular procedures were not followed, pinch analysts having been fixed an unusually short clip to nutrient their report. But nan reappraisal did not refute nan findings of nan intelligence appraisal that Russia sought to interfere successful nan election.

Ratcliffe, however, argued connected societal media that nan reappraisal showed that Democratic appointees “manipulated intelligence and silenced profession professionals — each to get Trump.”

Both nan intelligence agency appraisal and nan Senate investigation recovered that Russia hacked into voting systems successful immoderate states but did not effort to alteration votes aliases change ballot counting.

Gabbard’s agency said that successful December 2016, talking points were prepared for nan nationalist intelligence head astatine nan time, James Clapper, stating: “Foreign adversaries did not usage cyberattacks connected predetermination infrastructure to change nan US Presidential predetermination outcome.”

The National Intelligence Director’s Office suggested that intelligence astir cyberattacks was later contradicted successful a caller finding. The intelligence agencies concluded successful their appraisal that Russian President Vladimir Putin “aspired” to thief Trump’s predetermination chances, nan ODNI noted.

'Doing Trump's bidding'

Democrats successful Congress said Gabbard was conflating 2 abstracted issues: whether Russia sought to tamper pinch voting aliases whether Moscow tried to power nan predetermination done disinformation and leaked emails stolen from nan Democratic Party.

The Obama management ne'er said Russia had tried to change votes done its cyber intrusions.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, nan ranking Democrat connected nan House Intelligence Committee, said Gabbard’s allegations of treason were “baseless” and an effort to revive conspiracy claims that had already been debunked.

Gabbard is “rehashing decade-old mendacious claims astir nan Obama Administration,” Himes said successful a connection Friday. “Few episodes successful our nation’s history person been investigated arsenic thoroughly arsenic nan Intelligence Community’s informing successful 2016 that Russia was interfering successful nan election. “

Larry Pfeiffer, a erstwhile elder intelligence charismatic who served some Republican and Democratic presidents complete much than 3 decades, said Gabbard’s “analysis is grossly flawed and inconsistent pinch nan findings of years-long investigations by nan Department of Justice and nan U.S. Senate.”

He added that Gabbard’s partisan governmental behaviour arsenic head would beryllium apt origin her to suffer nan spot of rank-and-file members of nan country’s spy agencies.

The elder CIA serviceman who helped oversee nan 2017 intelligence appraisal of Russia’s domiciled successful nan 2016 election, Susan Miller, rejected nan CIA director’s portrayal of nan analysis, though she objected to an annex that was added to nan report.

Miller said she was angry astatine nan clip that elder officials chose to see an annex to nan intelligence appraisal referring to an unverified dossier astir Trump compiled by a erstwhile British intelligence officer, Christopher Steele.

But Miller said she agreed pinch nan assessment’s halfway uncovering that Putin tried to assistance Trump successful 2016, and she accused Ratcliffe, nan CIA’s existent director, of engaging successful partisan politics.

“He’s doing Trump’s bidding to spell aft those of america who dared to constitute a study that simply said nan Russians tried to power nan predetermination towards Trump,” Miller told nan investigative newsletter SpyTalk. “And that’s a crime?”