Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard discusses the intentions of former President Barack Obama’s administration in politicizing intelligence on “Hannity.” Gabbard told host Sean Hannity the Department of Justice will assess Obama-Russia hoax documents and that criminal charges are possible.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: All right. Here to give us all the details and bring us up to speed with reaction, the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. She declassified this report yesterday and has many more details. You know I have this creation of the Russia hoax that you put out on X, that you posted on X. And I’ll put it up as you’re speaking here. What is amazing to me as I’ve gone through this cache of documents you’ve released, is that they concluded just the opposite. They concluded there was no problem. And then all of it — that was the rank-and-file. These were career people in the intel community. They give honest assessments. Then, all of a sudden, it ends up in the hands of the leadership, the deep state as we call them — and what happened to it? Can you explain what the process and what these documents reveal? TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Yeah, thank you so much, Sean. This is such an important issue, and I just want to start by saying that this is an issue that is important to every single one of us as Americans. This is not a partisan issue. It has to do with the integrity and the strength of our democratic republic. And it lays out the — this over hundred documents that you’re referencing that I released, declassified and released, spells out in great detail exactly what happens when you have some of the most powerful people in our country directly at — leading at the helm, President Obama and his senior most national security cabinet — James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper, and Susan Rice and others — essentially making a very intentional decision to create this manufactured, politicized piece of intelligence with the objective of subverting the will of the American people who in November of 2016 delivered a historic victory to President Trump, defeating Hillary Clinton. And President Obama and his team, their goal was to essentially not accept the decision of the American people and to use this manufactured, politicized intelligence as a means to enact what would become essentially a years-long coup against President Trump. You have gone into great detail over these years of what the effects of this document and this decision have resulted in — obviously, a years-long Mueller investigation that cost taxpayers almost $ 40 million, two congressional impeachments, endless smears and attacks against not only President Trump but his family. He had senior members of his team who were investigated, some arrested and jailed. We had heightened and increased tensions between the United States and Russia. The list goes on and on about the consequences of President Obama and his senior cabinet members politicizing intelligence once again — and I say these words very clearly — to enact what was essentially a years-long coup, subverting the will of the American people in that election in November. Now, you referenced this president’s daily brief document that was drafted for President Obama in early December that reaffirmed what the intelligence community professionals, as you say, have had been assessing for the previous months leading up to the election, which was that Russia neither had the intent nor capability to essentially hack the outcome of the U.S. election. As you said, President Obama’s political appointees pulled that document before it could be published, and it has not been published until we released it today. And the very next day after they pulled that document, President Obama called the National Security Council cabinet meeting to discuss how Russia interfered with the election. Again, this is the first — (CROSSTALK) HANNITY: This is December 9th, right? GABBARD: President Trump had already won, correct. And the task that came — HANNITY: This is the December 9th meeting? GABBARD: That’s exactly right. The December 9th meeting. We declassified and released the — what they called the summary of conclusions from that meeting. Then-DNI James Clapper took the lead on what President Obama wanted done, and which was essentially create a document that tells us not if but how Russia interfered with the election. President Obama delivered the conclusion that he wanted the intelligence community to reach and directed them to find and essentially create and manufacture the intelligence to support the conclusion that President Obama wanted to deliver to the American people. Once that document was drafted, the deep state kicked into gear and did what they usually do. They started leaking the classified information out to their friends at “The Washington Post” and others who are working hand and glove with the deep state to lay the groundwork for the assessment that they eventually release, that served as the basis, once again, for this years-long coup with the goal of trying to subvert the American people’s will and usurp President Trump from being able to deliver on the mandate that the American people gave to him when they chose to elect him as president of the United States. HANNITY: So, you had career intel people that came to a conclusion that, in fact, Russia did not interfere, that it had no impact. And they didn’t like the assessment, and they have this meeting with President Obama at the time. And they make the decision, a very conscious decision, to pervert real intelligence, turn it into phony intelligence, but also simultaneously something else was happening. And James Comey, for example, was warned about the Russian disinformation dossier that was paid for by Hillary Clinton. He was warned not to trust it, but it became the bulk of information for not one but four separate FISA warrants, ruined Carter Page’s life but also backdoored an ability for them to spy on President Trump, candidate Trump and transition team Trump. Nobody was ever held accountable for that either. Now to me, it sounds like you have appointed powerful bureaucrats that just flat out created a narrative that was false to undermine a duly elected president. Now, if that’s not a grand conspiracy, I don’t know what would be. Do you see crimes here? GABBARD: I do, Sean. And I’m referring all of these documents that we have — that we have found and uncovered, referring them to the Department of Justice for further investigations. Accountability and action, not just investigation but action. Accountability has to take place. The American people’s ability to have faith and trust in the integrity of our democratic republic is literally what’s at stake, and therefore, the future of our ability to exist as the country that we know it. This accountability is critical to make sure that this never happens again, exposing the truth and naming those who are responsible should drive that accountability that has to take place. I just want to mention, quickly, Sean, you mentioned the Steele dossier. That plays a critical role in these documents that we released, specifically because James Clapper, James Comey, John Brennan, they all knew that the Steele dossier was discredited at this point. It’s not something any intelligence professional look to as something that could be referenced or should be referenced in any intelligence assessment whatsoever. I know that there were professionals who were told, include the Steele dossier in this January Obama directed, manufactured piece of intelligence, and they protested to people like John Brennan and James Clapper. They were shocked that it would even be considered. The Steele dossier was used in this manufactured assessment that President Obama directed be created along with many other pieces of intelligence that the intelligence community itself, for months leading up to the elections, said this is not credible and should not be used at all. HANNITY: We’ve got to get to the bottom of this. I hope there are criminal referrals at the end of this. This investigation has got to be thorough, and I have every belief that we eventually — this is a big release today. Declassifying this is a big deal. I spent three years in this program unpeeling every layer of the onion, and the media just were used as propagandists, pushing a false conspiracy theory for three years. And it did great damage to the country. Tulsi, great work. Thank you. GABBARD: It did.

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