Photo: Alamy
The Justice Department on Wednesday announced the formation of a new strike force to examine evidence declassified and released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard related to the government’s handling of the Russia election interference investigation.
The move follows Gabbard’s release of a House Intelligence Committee report that claims the Obama-era intelligence assessment on Russian meddling in the 2016 election relied in part on the discredited Steele Dossier to support its conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help Donald Trump win the presidency.
“The Department of Justice is proud to work with my friend Director Gabbard, and we are grateful for her partnership in delivering accountability for the American people,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “We will investigate these troubling disclosures fully and leave no stone unturned to deliver justice.”
Gabbard stated that she has provided the newly declassified documents to the Justice Department and the FBI, citing potential criminal implications associated with the creation and dissemination of the original intelligence assessment.
The Justice Department has previously used strike forces to manage complex investigations involving health care fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes. Officials indicated the new unit will serve a similar role in coordinating a cross-agency review of how intelligence was handled before and after the 2016 election.
Gabbard made the remarks during a White House press briefing following her declassification and release of a House Intelligence Committee report, which alleges that the Obama-era intelligence assessment on Russian election interference relied on the discredited Steele Dossier to support its conclusion that Putin aimed to help Trump win the 2016 election.
“There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false,” Gabbard said on Wednesday, Fox News reported.
“They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true it wasn’t,” the report added.
“All come back to and confirm the same report: There was a gross politicization and manipulation of intelligence by the Obama administration intended to delegitimize President Trump even before he was inaugurated, ultimately usurping the will of the American people,” she added.
