U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has unveiled what she describes as “overwhelming evidence” of an Obama Coup Plot Against Trump and a coordinated effort by senior Obama-era officials to undermine Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent presidency.
The declassified documents, released on Friday, allege that top intelligence officials manipulated intelligence to create the narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 election, a scandal widely known as “Russiagate”.
According to Gabbard, the trove of over 100 pages of emails, memos, and internal communications reveals a deliberate effort by Barack Obama administration officials, including then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, to politicize intelligence and frame Russia as interfering in the election to favor Trump.
Gabbard has called this effort “a treasonous conspiracy to subvert the will of the American people.”
The documents highlight a draft President’s Daily Brief dated December 8, 2016, prepared by the CIA, NSA, FBI, DHS, and other agencies, which stated that Russia “did not impact recent U.S. election results” through cyberattacks.
However, internal emails indicate this report was pulled following “new guidance” and a high-level Situation Room meeting involving key Obama administration figures. Hours after the meeting, the narrative shifted to emphasise Russian interference, laying the groundwork for the multi-year Trump-Russia collusion investigation.
“For months before the 2016 election, the Intelligence Community maintained that Russia lacked both the intent and capability to hack U.S. elections,” Gabbard stated. “But once President Trump won, everything changed.”
She argues that the documents show a concerted effort to overrule intelligence findings and manufacture a narrative to delegitimise Trump’s presidency.
The release of these documents has reignited debates over the origins of Russiagate, with some conservative outlets and figures praising Gabbard’s actions as exposing a long-suspected plot.
🧵 Americans will finally learn the truth about how in 2016, intelligence was politicized and weaponized by the most powerful people in the Obama Administration to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President @realDonaldTrump, subverting the… pic.twitter.com/UQKKZ5c4Op
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 18, 2025
The Department of Justice has not yet responded to Gabbard’s submission of the documents for review, and it remains unclear whether they will lead to formal investigations or charges.
Gabbard’s release comes amid ongoing reviews of the intelligence community’s handling of the 2016 election, with recent reports indicating that former CIA Director John Brennan and others face renewed scrutiny for their roles in the Russiagate probe.
As the nation digests these revelations, the documents are likely to fuel further debate over the integrity of the U.S. intelligence community and its role in domestic politics.
Gabbard has called for accountability, stating,
“The American people deserve the truth, and those responsible must face consequences for undermining our democracy.”
Disclaimer: The allegations presented in the documents are subject to ongoing review.
Source: New Evidence of Obama Administration Conspiracy to Subvert President Trump’s 2016 Victory and Presidency, Director of National Intelligence
Related: Obama officials admitted they had no ’empirical evidence’ of Trump-Russia collusion: House Intel transcripts, Fox News