Dems Challenge Gabbard’s Claims with Flawed Senate Report on Steele Dossier’s Exclusion from ICA

A group of prominent Democrats, including former President Obama, are leaning heavily on a Senate Intelligence Committee report from 2020 to defend against fresh evidence declassified by Tulsi Gabbard. This report, however, seems flawed as it contains a discredited claim that the Steele Dossier wasn’t a factor in the 2016 U.S. intelligence community’s assessment. Last week, Gabbard submitted declassified documents to the Justice Department, calling it a “treasonous conspiracy” involving top U.S. intelligence officials who allegedly politicized Russian intel connected to the 2016 election.

Joining Obama in defending the report are Democratic leaders from the Senate and House intelligence committees, as well as former DNI James Clapper. They’re pointing to the bipartisan Senate intel panel’s 2020 report to challenge Gabbard’s assertions. However, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s reports from April and August 2020, which claimed that the Steele Dossier wasn’t used in the ICA, have been debunked by a newly-declassified House Intelligence Committee report and a recent CIA review.

The April 2020 Senate report incorrectly suggested that former CIA Director John Brennan was against the inclusion of the dossier in the ICA. Newly-declassified evidence and a recent CIA review reveal Brennan actually pushed for its inclusion despite objections from top CIA analysts. CIA Director John Ratcliffe even sent a criminal referral on Brennan to the FBI after a CIA “lessons-learned” review earlier in the year.

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s fourth volume of its report on Russian interference was titled “Review of Intelligence Community Assessment.” It falsely stated that Steele’s information wasn’t used within the ICA. The fifth volume, released in August 2020, similarly claimed the dossier wasn’t part of the ICA’s findings, a conclusion now known to be false.

The 2016 ICA was prepared under President Obama’s direction and mostly overseen by Brennan, Clapper, and then-FBI Director James Comey. Completed in December 2016, a declassified version was released in January 2017, with a more detailed classified version released last week. Comey, along with former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, pushed to include Steele’s discredited dossier in the 2016 ICA.

The dossier was included in an annex to the assessment and directly mentioned in the most classified version of the ICA. New evidence from the House report and a recent CIA review criticize Brennan for joining anti-Trump forces in the FBI to push Steele’s dossier into the 2016 ICA. Steele, a former British spy, was hired by Fusion GPS, an opposition research firm funded by Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Elias.

The dossier’s use led the FBI to obtain FISA warrants against a Trump campaign official, raising questions about its role in the ICA on Russia and the 2016 election. The Clinton campaign and the DNC were later fined by the Federal Elections Committee for not disclosing payments for the Fusion GPS report.

In response to Gabbard’s report, a spokesperson for Obama released a statement denying her claims, citing the 2020 Senate report. The Obama statement labeled Gabbard’s allegations as “outrageous” and a “weak attempt at distraction.” They emphasized that nothing in Gabbard’s document contradicts the widely accepted conclusion of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, defended the 2020 report, accusing Gabbard of amplifying conspiracy theories. Warner reiterated the committee’s findings that Russia launched an influence campaign in the 2016 election to aid Trump. He criticized Gabbard’s actions as an attempt to change the narrative around the Obama administration.

House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes also criticized Gabbard, stating the intelligence community’s 2016 warnings about Russian interference have been thoroughly investigated. Himes argued that all legitimate investigations, including the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, found no evidence of politicization. He maintained these investigations endorsed the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment’s findings.

On CBS’ Face the Nation, Himes reiterated that the Senate committee, led by Republican Marco Rubio, unanimously found Russia meddled in the election to help Trump. Former DNI Clapper also defended the Senate Intelligence Committee’s work, noting their exhaustive examination of Russian engagement. Clapper emphasized the committee’s focus on the intelligence community assessment released in January.