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Obama admin ‘manufactured’ intelligence to create 2016 Russian election interference narrative, documents show
“There was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government,” Gabbard said
By Brooke Singman Fox News/Published July 18, 2025 1:02pm E
pic—Trump slams ‘very dishonest’ Brennan, Comey amid FBI probe
President Donald Trump reacted to Fox News Digital’s reporting that former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation related to the Russia probe.
On Friday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents revealing “overwhelming evidence” that demonstrates how, after President Donald Trump won the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, then-President Barack Obama and his national security team laid the groundwork for what would be the years-long Trump–Russia collusion probe.
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Documents revealed that in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community consistently assessed that Russia was “probably not trying…to influence the election by using cyber means.”
pic——Tulsi Gabbard testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee-—Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
One instance was on Dec. 7, 2016, weeks after the election. Then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s talking points stated: “Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. presidential election outcome.”
Fox News Digital obtained a declassified copy of the Presidential Daily Brief, which was prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, with reporting from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, State Department and open sources, for Obama, dated Dec. 8, 2016.
“We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure,” the Presidential Daily Brief stated. “Russian Government-affiliated actors most likely compromised an Illinois voter registration database and unsuccessfully attempted the same in other states.”
pic-—July 19, 2016: President Barack Obama, center, with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, left, and FBI Director James Comey, right, sit during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/The Associated Press)
But the brief stated that it was “highly unlikely” the effort “would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote result.”
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“Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes,” it stated. The brief noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed that any Russian activities “probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates.”
The brief stated that cyber criminals “tried to steal data and to interrupt election processes by targeting election infrastructure, but these actions did not achieve a notable disruptive effect.” Fox News Digital obtained declassified, but redacted, communications from the FBI on the Presidential Daily Brief, stating that it “should not go forward until the FBI” had shared its “concerns.” Those communications revealed that the FBI drafted a “dissent” to the original Presidential Daily Brief.
The communications revealed that the brief was expected to be published Dec. 9, 2016, the following day, but later communications revealed that Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “based on some new guidance” decided to “push back publication” of the Presidential Daily Brief.
“It will not run tomorrow and is not likely to run until next week,” wrote the deputy director of the Presidential Daily Brief at Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose name is redacted. The following day, Dec. 9, 2016, a meeting convened in the White House Situation Room, with the subject line starting: “Summary of Conclusions for PC Meeting on a Sensitive Topic (REDACTED.)”
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The meeting included top officials in the National Security Council, Clapper, then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, among others, to discuss Russia.
pic——Then National Security Adviser Susan Rice in a March 21, 2014, file photo.
The declassified meeting record, obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed that principals “agreed to recommend sanctioning of certain members of the Russian military intelligence and foreign intelligence chains of command responsible for cyber operations as a response to cyber activity that attempted to influence or interfere with U.S. elections, if such activity meets the requirements” from an executive order that demanded the blocking of property belonging to people engaged in cyber activities.
After the meeting, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Clapper’s executive assistant emailed intelligence community leaders tasking them to create a new intelligence community assessment “per the president’s request,” that detailed the “tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election.”
“ODNI will lead this effort with participation from CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS,” the record states.
pic-—then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Secretary of State John Kerry look on as U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement after meeting with his National Security Council at the State Department, Feb. 25, 2016, in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Later, Obama officials “leaked false statements to media outlets” claiming that “Russia has attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election.”
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