National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard declassified a document last month concerning Russian interference in the 2016 election, acting against the objections of CIA officials who argued the release would compromise sensitive intelligence sources and methods. The disagreement was first reported by The Washington Post.
The decision has alarmed some former intelligence officers and senior lawmakers. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned that the move could jeopardize intelligence-gathering operations. The declassified report, a five-year-old assessment by House Intelligence Committee Republicans, contained minimal redactions and referenced specific intelligence activities, including eavesdropping and “an established clandestine” human source with insight into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s views.
Michael van Landingham, a former CIA analyst who contributed to the 2017 intelligence assessment on election interference, expressed shock at the level of detail revealed. “This sort of information would allow for Russian authorities to easily find potential sources of the leaks, which would complicate the job of the US IC keeping America safe,” he said. Van Landingham noted that when he previously handled the same material, he was subjected to a polygraph and could only review a hard copy after signing for it.
However, a CIA spokesperson stated that agency Director John Ratcliffe strongly supported the release, framing it as a commitment to transparency. President Donald Trump also backed the decision. Gabbard’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The declassification is part of a broader effort by Trump administration officials to support claims of a conspiracy by the Obama administration. Gabbard has publicly asserted that the report proves the Obama administration fabricated intelligence to suggest Russia aided Trump’s victory, an accusation former Obama officials have called baseless. This campaign has included a series of similar reports and declassified documents from officials, including Ratcliffe.
In a related move, Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed the Justice Department to launch a grand jury investigation into the Obama administration’s review of Russia’s 2016 election activities. A former senior Justice Department official criticized the move as “a dangerous political stunt,” while Democrats have labeled it an attempt by the Trump administration to create a distraction.
These claims conflict with previous findings. A bipartisan 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report validated the intelligence community’s conclusion that the Kremlin sought to help Trump win. Furthermore, a report by Special Counsel John Durham, appointed during the Trump administration, found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy by the Hillary Clinton campaign or the Obama administration to undermine Trump.
At a 2018 news conference in Helsinki, President Putin himself stated that he had wanted Trump to win the election.
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