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Traditional Deputy National Security Handbook to President Barack Obama Ben Rhodes’ assert of lack of expertise regarding the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) “Russiagate” probe is reputedly contradicted by newly released paperwork.

Rhodes mentioned in a 2019 interview that neither he nor the White Condo had been inquisitive regarding the FBI’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. On the different hand, he was most contemporary for the duration of a Dec. 9, 2016, assembly of Obama’s National Security Council’s (NSC) Principals Committee where alleged Russian election interference was discussed, in step with paperwork released by Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard on Friday.

“Obama directed the IC to diagram a brand recent intelligence evaluation that detailed Russian election meddling, even supposing it would contradict a lot of intelligence assessments released over the old a lot of months,” Gabbard wrote on X.

The following day, top nationwide security officials collectively with FBI Dir James Comey, CIA Dir John Brennan and DNI James Clapper gathered on the Obama White Condo to keep in touch about Russia. Obama directed the IC to diagram a brand recent intelligence evaluation that detailed Russian election meddling, even… pic.twitter.com/b7ly73h12t

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 18, 2025

That directive followed preparation for the President’s Day by day Temporary on Dec. 8, 2016, in step with an evaluation ” finding Russia ‘didn’t impression most contemporary U.S. election results’ by conducting cyber attacks on infrastructure,” according to Gabbard. The DNI mentioned this brief was pulled “in step with recent guidance” and remained unpublished.

The day of the assembly, The Washington Publish published an editorial sourcing “White Condo officials” titled “Secret CIA evaluation says Russia was making an try to assist Trump accumulate White Condo.”

The article, Gabbard’s tweet thread claimed, was the produced from leaks from “anonymous IC sources.”

Gabbard’s assert that Obama directed his NSC to diagram an evaluation that detailed Russian meddling reputedly contradicts what Rhodes mentioned in 2019.

“We didn’t even know that there was an FBI investigation of Trump. I didn’t. President Obama didn’t,” he advised journalist Nicholas Ballasy in 2019. “We in actuality abided by the firewalls. If there had been any investigations that took relate, those selections had been made in the Justice Division, in the FBI, now not in the White Condo.”

The FBI began investigating Trump’s campaign in July 2016 as section of their Crossfire Hurricane investigation. (RELATED: Clinton Email Investigation Brushed apart A in point of fact critical Fragment Of Evidence)

“They’ll acquire nothing that ability that there was any political or White Condo involvement in any of that. Actually, I realized regarding the FBI investigation into Trump as a non-public citizen in the freaking Washington Publish,” Rhodes also advised Ballasy.

Obama’s directive was followed by the vulgar 2017 Intelligence Neighborhood Evaluation (ICA), in step with one other put up from Gabbard. The ICA concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought “to undermine public faith in the US democratic course of, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and hurt her electability” with a “clear want for President-elect Trump.”

The 2017 ICA’s conclusions run in stark distinction to an August 2016 epic that, in step with a tweet from Gabbard, was from a Division of Fatherland Security (DHS) legit to then-DNI James Clapper.

For months preceding the 2016 election, the Intelligence Neighborhood shared a consensus peek: Russia lacked the intent and ability to hack U.S. elections.

But weeks after President Trump’s historic 2016 victory defeating Hillary Clinton, all the pieces changed. pic.twitter.com/ss6A20yZ7k

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 18, 2025

“The thrust of the diagnosis is that there is never any such thing as a indication of a Russian risk to at the moment manipulate the categorical vote count via cyber methodology,” the epic be taught.

“We assess that foreign adversaries didn’t spend cyber attacks on election infrastructure to change the US Presidential election final end result this year. We possess now not occupy any proof of cyber manipulation of election infrastructure intended to change results,” a Dec. 7, 2016, DNI document Gabbard’s tweet labeled “DNI Clapper speaking points” also be taught.

A most contemporary Central Intelligence Company (CIA) diagnosis of the 2017 ICA chanced on that the document was predicated on shoddy tradecraft and the inclusion of serious points from the now-discredited Steele Dossier “ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.”

The Day by day Caller reached out to Ben Rhodes for clarification but didn’t hear assist by time of newsletter.