The latest declassified evidence reveals that the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian election interference was crafted by a select group of CIA analysts under orders from Obama’s top brass—without the solid proof they claimed, and some of those same people still walk the halls of our government today.
Obama-Era Intelligence Gone Off the Rails—The 2017 ICA and Its Dubious Origins
In the closing days of the Obama administration, the U.S. intelligence community delivered the now-infamous 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) declaring Russian interference in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump. This “assessment” was not the product of rigorous, broad-based analysis, but instead the handiwork of a minuscule, hand-picked CIA team operating under the direct, watchful eyes of then-CIA Director John Brennan and President Obama himself. The report was rushed out just two weeks before Trump’s inauguration, bypassing the standard checks and balances and raising alarm bells among career intelligence professionals. The infamous Steele dossier—an unverified and error-riddled document—played a role in shaping the narrative, even as seasoned analysts warned it was unreliable. Yet, objections were swept aside in the political frenzy, and the report sailed through, seeding the media and the public with doubts about the legitimacy of Trump’s victory. Now, with the benefit of newly declassified documents and congressional investigations, the true story is coming to light: the ICA was a political rush job, not an objective intelligence product.
Fast forward to today, many of those same analysts and officials remain embedded in the intelligence bureaucracy, shielded from scrutiny for years while wielding enormous power over public perception and policy. The question now swirling in the corridors of power is simple: how did this happen, and why are these people still collecting taxpayer-funded paychecks?
Declassified Bombshells: No Evidence, Just “Assessment” and Political Spin
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has unleashed a wave of declassifications that pull back the curtain on the ICA’s creation. The new documents show that the intelligence community had no direct evidence of Vladimir Putin’s intent to help Trump—contrary to what the public was told. Instead, the assessment was based on speculative analysis and partisan interpretations, not hard intelligence. Former Obama officials, dragged before committees, have now admitted they lacked actual proof of collusion or intent, despite years of breathless headlines and political theater. The Department of Justice, under new leadership, has responded by forming a “strike force” to investigate possible criminal conduct by those who manufactured and weaponized the ICA. The House Intelligence Committee, now under Republican control, has released its own report highlighting the irregularities and lack of evidence behind the original assessment.
Declassified records via @DNIGabbard make the case that the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment was “ordered by" and "subject to unusual directives" from President Obama
•Draft "not properly coordinated" with IC components, purposefully deviated from professional standards… https://t.co/w1jpVev2YO pic.twitter.com/O6zATmihx2
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) July 23, 2025
The agency’s internal safeguards were bypassed in the rush to produce a report that fit the political moment. The parallels to the intelligence failures of the Iraq War are unavoidable—except this time, the manipulation was aimed not at foreign policy, but at undermining a sitting president and the will of American voters. The damage to public trust and the integrity of the intelligence community is incalculable.
Political Manipulation, Deep State Rot, and the Dire Need for House Cleaning
Critics have long argued that the intelligence community became a political weapon during the Obama years, and the latest revelations only reinforce those fears. The ICA was not the consensus view of the intelligence community, but the product of a closed circle of officials bent on shaping the public narrative. The same playbook of selective leaks, media manipulation, and bureaucratic stonewalling that plagued the Trump-Russia saga is now exposed as a concerted effort to undermine the results of a legitimate election. Calls are growing louder for the CIA and other agencies to root out the officials responsible for this debacle. As investigations grind forward, it is clear that accountability must go beyond slaps on the wrist or quiet retirements. The American people deserve a clean house and a promise: never again will intelligence be twisted to serve partisan ends.
🚨 @DNIGabbard EXPOSES how the Obama Administration manufactured the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, creating the RUSSIA HOAX.
The crime of the century! pic.twitter.com/JmjjePUavk
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 23, 2025
The broader implications reach far beyond one election or administration. If senior intelligence officials can manufacture a narrative to sway public opinion and cripple a presidency, then the foundational principles of American democracy—free and fair elections, equal justice under the law, and government accountability—are at grave risk. The continued employment of those who authored and protected this sham assessment is a direct insult to every citizen who believes in honest, transparent government. The time for excuses and cover-ups is over. It’s time to find these people and fire them—before they can do any more damage to the Constitution they swore to defend.
What’s Next: Ongoing Investigations and the Fight for Accountability
With the DOJ “strike force” now sifting through declassified evidence and House investigators on the warpath, the coming months will reveal just how deep the rot goes. Legal action against those responsible is no longer just a conservative talking point—it is a demand shared by millions of Americans fed up with being lied to and manipulated by unelected bureaucrats. The stakes could not be higher. As more documents are released and more officials are called to testify, the American people will finally get the answers they deserve. Whether true justice is served remains to be seen, but the message from the heartland to Washington is clear: no more secret cabals, no more political “ops” masquerading as intelligence, and no more immunity for those who betray the public trust. The reckoning has just begun, and the public’s patience for excuses has run out.
The future of American democracy depends not just on exposing the truth, but on making sure those who abused their power are held to account—once and for all.
Sources:
Fox News: DOJ forms ‘Russiagate strike force’ after declassified Obama-era Russiagate evidence
Politico: Trump-Russia scandal
ODNI: Declassified HPSCI Report – Manufactured Russia Hoax July 2025
ODNI: Declassified Evidence – Obama Subvert President Trump 2016 Victory Election July 2025