In a stunning revelation that threatens to reignite the long-dormant controversy surrounding the 2016 US presidential election, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released a previously classified congressional report that, according to her, exposes a deliberate campaign by former President Barack Obama and his administration to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency. Gabbard claims the report, which was produced by the House Intelligence Committee under Republican leadership in 2020, debunks the widely accepted narrative that Russia meddled in the election to help Trump win.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on July 23, Gabbard described the report as a “bombshell” and “proof of the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history.” She accused Obama, along with his senior intelligence officials and media allies, of orchestrating what she called a “years-long coup” against Donald Trump-a coordinated disinformation campaign designed to delegitimize a sitting president.

At the core of Gabbard’s claims is the assertion that intelligence surrounding Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election was selectively distorted and manipulated to fit a political narrative. The newly released report criticizes the CIA for allegedly basing its assessment of Russian intent on what it calls “one scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports.” This, according to the committee, formed the basis for the conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin favored Trump-a claim that has shaped US politics and media discourse for nearly a decade.

Perhaps more troubling, Gabbard and the report both allege that Obama personally issued........

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