One of the CIA's most authoritative Russia analysts has been removed by the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard for his involvement in the preparation of a report on alleged Russian interference in the US election, the British weekly magazine The Economist reported, citing its sources.
On August 20, Gabbard wrote in X that she had deprived 37 former and current employees of US intelligence agencies of access to classified data. According to her, they had “abused the public trust by using and manipulating intelligence information for political purposes, organized unauthorized leaks“ and committed other “blatant violations of intelligence standards“.
On July 18, Gabbard released a report saying that the administration of the 44th US President Barack Obama fabricated intelligence after Republican Donald Trump won the 2016 election, according to which Russia interfered in the electoral process. This was done in an attempt to remove Trump from power, Gabbard noted.
According to her, several months before the election, American intelligence was unanimous: Russia had neither the intention nor the ability to interfere in the American elections. However, in December 2016 (after Trump's victory), the Obama administration commissioned a new report that contradicted previous assessments. Gabbard explained that the key intelligence conclusion that Russia did not influence the election results was removed and classified.
According to The Economist, the dismissed CIA official, whose name was not disclosed, led the Russia and Eurasia Division in 2016 and the preparation of a report on alleged Russian interference in the election. Several years later, she returned to the agency in a high-ranking position, analyzing Russia and the post-Soviet republics.
The publication notes that Gabbard also deprived senior CIA officials Shelby Pearson and Vinh Nguyen, who participated in the preparation of the report, of access to classified data.
In 2016, US intelligence agencies accused Russia of interfering in the American electoral process. The investigation into these alleged attempts to influence was conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller. On April 18, 2019, the US Department of Justice released its final report, in which the special counsel acknowledged that it had found no collusion between Trump, who won the election, and Russia. Trump has repeatedly denied allegations of improper contacts with Russian officials. Moscow has also called allegations of its attempts to influence the US election baseless.