(The Hill) Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday directed Department of Justice officials to open a grand jury investigation into how Obama administration officials handled intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The grand jury probe marks another escalation of the Trump administration’s focus on allegations of wrongdoing by Obama officials, including the former president.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has in recent weeks declassified various documents connected to Russia’s election interference, claiming it showed “treasonous conspiracy” by Obama administration officials.
“Following the compelling case outlined by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, which exposed clear and blatant weaponization by corrupt intelligence officials acting at the behest of the Democrat Party and likely former President Obama, the Administration remains committed to conducting a thorough investigation,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement.
“This effort aims to provide the American people with the truth about the extent to which former government officials worked to sabotage the Trump administration and undermine the will of the American people in a clear attempt to subvert our Constitutional Republic,” Fields added.
Fox News first reported that Bondi had directed the start of a grand jury investigation.
The documents Gabbard has released do little to suggest wrongdoing by the intelligence community in seeking to investigate Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 contest.
Gabbard and other officials have pushed back on established findings from the intelligence community and a bipartisan Senate panel that Russia showed a preference for then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Gabbard has alleged that Obama officials manipulated intelligence to harm Trump.
Gabbard referred the documents to the Justice Department and FBI for potential criminal referrals, though the director repeatedly dodged when pressed on what crime former President Obama could be charged with.
Obama’s office issued a rare public statement calling the document drops a “distraction” as Trump faced calls to release information about the prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
James Clapper, who served as director of national intelligence under Obama and has faced intense criticism from Trump officials, has called the allegations against him “patently false and unfounded.”
