Washington: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has issued a new report aimed at casting doubt on long-established findings about Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election.
During a press briefing, Gabbard claimed that former President Barack Obama's administration deliberately crafted a "false narrative" suggesting Russian President Vladimir Putin worked to help Donald Trump win the 2016 election.
"New evidence has emerged of the most egregious weaponization and politicisation of intelligence in American history," Gabbard said. "This was not an intelligence failure, it was an intelligence fabrication," she said.
She added that the documents show the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) was "manufactured" to falsely implicate Russian support for Trump, to undermine his legitimacy even before he took office.
'Tulsi, great job': Trump
President Donald Trump heaped praises on Gabbard, saying that she is "the hottest one in the room right now", after she issued the new report. "Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi, she is like hotter than everybody. She is the hottest one in the room right now,” Trump said at a gathering.
Trump said he was very happy with Gabbard and said, “Tulsi, great job — and I know you have a lot more coming... We’re very proud of you, Tulsi. What happened wasn’t a loss—it was a stolen win".
'Bizarre, outrageous': Obama's office
In a rare response, former President Obama’s office issued a statement strongly rejecting the claims. “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” said spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush. “Nothing in the document undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia sought to influence the 2016 election, though no votes were changed.”
