CIA Director Ratcliffe Details Obama Officials’ Manipulation of 2016 Russia Intelligence

A series of reports and reviews from the CIA and its Director John Ratcliffe have revealed that the Obama administration, including key officials John Brennan, James Comey, and James Clapper, manipulated intelligence to promote the false narrative of Russian collusion against President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. The Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) was rushed and compromised, involving only a select group of analysts and including the discredited Steele dossier despite objections from senior experts. This process was politically motivated, aimed at undermining Trump, and included leaking information to the press to influence analysts. Ratcliffe described the operation as a coordinated effort by Obama-era officials to weaponize intelligence against Trump, resulting in the Mueller investigation that ultimately found no collusion. Separately, Lev Parnas, a former associate of President Trump, accused Trump of actively obstructing military aid to Ukraine, alleging he ordered missiles staged in Poland to be pulled back, which has begun causing dissent among Republican lawmakers. These developments highlight ongoing controversies involving the Trump administration's actions domestically and in foreign policy contexts.