House Report Reveals CIA Lacked Evidence Putin Favored Trump 2016 Election

A newly declassified House Intelligence Committee report reveals that the U.S. intelligence community lacked direct evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help Donald Trump in the 2016 election, yet the claim was included in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) under pressure from then-President Barack Obama and CIA Director John Brennan. The report alleges that Brennan overruled senior intelligence officials who objected to the inclusion of this assertion, which was based on scant and unverifiable intelligence, and that the now-debunked Steele Dossier was incorporated despite warnings from veteran officers. Critics, including Tulsi Gabbard, accuse the Obama administration of politicizing and manufacturing intelligence to undermine Trump's legitimacy, fueling years of partisan investigations. Obama’s office has strongly denied these allegations, calling them 'outrageous' and maintaining that Russia did try to influence the election, a conclusion upheld by bipartisan Senate findings. The controversy highlights deep divisions over the interpretation and use of intelligence in shaping government narratives and public opinion. Ongoing investigations continue to scrutinize the actions of top intelligence officials involved in the assessment.