The Mastermind: Declassified Files Show Obama Behind Russia Plot to Frame Trump
Declassified files reveal alleged intelligence manipulation behind 2016 Russia narrative, sparking calls for criminal probes
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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released a trove of newly declassified documents tying President Obama to the deliberate effort to frame Russia for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election and to discredit Donald Trump.
Describing the more than 100 pages of internal communications, memos, and emails as “overwhelming evidence,” Gabbard accused top officials of orchestrating what she called a “treasonous conspiracy” to manufacture the Trump–Russia collusion narrative.
“This intelligence was weaponized,” Gabbard said in a statement Friday. “It became a tool for political revenge, used to justify sanctions, investigations, and years of public distrust.”
Among the key revelations is a draft of the President’s Daily Brief dated December 8, 2016, which concluded that Russia had not impacted U.S. election outcomes. The report, compiled by multiple intelligence agencies, reportedly found no evidence of vote tampering. However, internal emails indicate the document was abruptly withdrawn under “new guidance,” just before a high-level Situation Room meeting that included senior figures like CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Soon after that meeting, a new intelligence assessment was released, at President Obama’s request, according to notes, claiming Russia had interfered in the election to benefit Trump.
Gabbard contends this report relied heavily on unverified claims, including material from the now-discredited Steele Dossier, while excluding dissenting voices within the intelligence community.
“This wasn’t about national security,” she said. “It was about building a story.”
The fallout from the original narrative led to years of diplomatic breakdowns with Moscow, congressional sanctions, and FBI investigations that dominated the Trump presidency.
Gabbard, who assumed the role of DNI earlier this year, has referred the documents to the Department of Justice and called for criminal investigations into several key officials from that period.
“Our democratic institutions can only function when those in power are held to account,” she said.
“We must ensure this never happens again.”