US intel chief accuses Obama team of orchestrating anti-Trump coup

Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, has accused former President Barack Obama and senior officials in his administration of orchestrating a “treasonous conspiracy” aimed at undermining Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory by falsely linking it to Russian interference.

Gabbard claimed Obama and his team “[laid] the groundwork for … a years-long coup” by “manufacturing intelligence” based on a dossier from British analyst Christopher Steele, which she says was known to be unreliable, Caliber.Az reports.

She pointed out that pre-election intelligence did not suggest Russian interference, contrasting with post-election claims.

In an extraordinary call for prosecutions, Gabbard said: “The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government. Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup … No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law … The future of our nation depends on it.”

Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, said she has submitted supporting documents to the Justice Department, including an intelligence community assessment and classified memos from Obama-era officials like James Clapper, former director of national intelligence.

Others implicated by Gabbard include former CIA Director John Brennan, Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and Obama himself.

The renewed focus on the Russia investigation — long dismissed by Trump as a “hoax” — comes amid pressure on the Trump administration over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and demands from Trump’s base to release related documents.

Gabbard’s office released memos describing how Obama’s national security team allegedly leaked false intelligence to the media to falsely claim Russian election interference. The memos criticise the public release of an intelligence assessment that included information from the Steele dossier, which was later confirmed as unreliable.

The Steele dossier played a key role in the Mueller investigation, which found Russia interfered in the 2016 election but did not establish coordination with the Trump campaign.

Gabbard’s nomination to lead the intelligence community was controversial due to her lack of intelligence experience and prior statements supportive of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin.

By Tamilla Hasanova