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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard doubled down at a White House press briefing Wednesday, alleging the Obama administration promoted a "contrived narrative" that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
"There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false," Gabbard said. "They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true it wasn't."
Gabbard’s comments come amid the declassification of a trove of documents from the U.S. intelligence community that claim the Obama administration politicized intelligence, and that U.S. intelligence organizations did not have direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to support Trump’s election in 2016.
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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, July 23, 2025.
"All come back to and confirm the same report: There was a gross politicization and manipulation of intelligence by the Obama administration intended to delegitimize President Trump even before he was inaugurated, ultimately usurping the will of the American people," Gabbard said Wednesday at a White House press briefing.
Gabbard also said that the declassified documents have been shared with the Department of Justice and the FBI so those agencies can evaluate if any criminal implications stemming from the materials are warranted.
"We have referred and will continue to refer all of these documents to the Department of Justice and the FBI, to investigate the criminal implications of this for the evidence," Gabbard said. "Correct. The evidence that we have found, and that we have released, directly point to President Obama leading the manufacturing of this intelligence assessment. There are multiple pieces of evidence and intelligence that confirm that fact."
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of being the "ringleader" of investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of being the "ringleader" of investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In response, a spokesperson for Obama labeled the accusations "bizarre" and said that the new documents do not alter the conclusions from previous intelligence assessments, including those included in a 2020 report from the Senate Intelligence Committee that was chaired by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response," Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement. "But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one."
"These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction," Rodenbush said. "Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes."
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.
In response, a spokesperson for former President Barack Obama labeled the accusations "bizarre." (Vincent Alban/Reuters)
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.