CIA Review Reveals Obama Officials Manipulated 2016 Russiagate Intelligence

A recent CIA review led by Director John Ratcliffe has revealed significant issues with the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian interference in the U.S. election, highlighting that key Obama-era intelligence officials, including John Brennan, James Clapper, and James Comey, manipulated intelligence and silenced career professionals to target then-President Donald Trump. The CIA report criticizes the inclusion of the Steele dossier—funded by Hillary Clinton's campaign and widely discredited—as it was improperly referenced to support claims that Vladimir Putin aimed to help Trump, contradicting prior sworn denials by officials like Brennan. Further investigation by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence suggests the ICA was even more corrupt than the CIA review indicates, with potential perjury charges looming against Brennan. The review also implicates President Barack Obama as directing the politicization of intelligence, orchestrating the effort to portray Putin as favoring Trump to disrupt the election transition. Although the CIA report is brief, it calls for the release of remaining documents related to the Crossfire Hurricane investigation to fully understand the extent of the intelligence community's interference. These revelations underscore a profound breach of ethical standards in intelligence operations during the 2016 election cycle.