Fact-Check: Tulsi Gabbard's Claim on Obama and the "Coup" Against Trump
What We Know
On July 23, 2025, Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), announced that she was presenting evidence suggesting that then-President Barack Obama and his administration laid the groundwork for a "coup" against Donald Trump, who had won the 2016 presidential election. Gabbard's claims were based on a declassified report produced by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) in September 2020, which she stated revealed that the Obama administration had manufactured a false Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) regarding Russian interference in the election (ODNI News Release).
Gabbard asserted that the ICA, which claimed that Russia aimed to help Trump win the presidency, was based on dubious sources and was politically motivated. She described this as part of a broader conspiracy involving high-ranking officials, including James Clapper and John Brennan, to undermine Trump's legitimacy as president (ODNI News Release). The report Gabbard referenced alleged that the Obama administration suppressed evidence that contradicted the narrative of Russian interference and manipulated intelligence to support their claims (New York Times).
Analysis
The credibility of Gabbard's claims hinges on the reliability of the sources she cited and the context in which they were presented. The ODNI press releases and the HPSCI report she referenced are official documents, which lends them a degree of authority. However, the interpretation of these documents is contentious. Critics, including fact-checking organizations, have pointed out that Gabbard's assertions lack substantial corroboration from independent sources and are often framed in a politically charged context.
For instance, AP News reported that Gabbard's claims of a "treasonous conspiracy" have not been substantiated by the broader intelligence community or independent investigations. Furthermore, NPR noted that the conclusions drawn by Gabbard and her supporters often ignore the substantial evidence collected during the Mueller investigation, which found that Russia did indeed interfere in the 2016 election.
Additionally, fact-checking organizations like Politifact and FactCheck.org have highlighted that Gabbard's interpretation of the intelligence assessments is misleading. They argue that while there were debates within the intelligence community regarding the extent and nature of Russian interference, the consensus that some form of interference occurred remains robust.
Conclusion
The claim made by Tulsi Gabbard that President Obama directed a conspiracy to undermine Donald Trump through the manipulation of intelligence assessments is True in the sense that Gabbard did announce this and presented documents to support her assertions. However, the context, interpretation, and credibility of the evidence she provided are highly disputed. While Gabbard's statements are based on official documents, the broader consensus among experts and independent investigations contradicts her narrative of a coordinated coup.
Thus, while the claim itself is factually accurate as a statement made by Gabbard, the implications and interpretations she draws from the evidence are contested and not universally accepted.
Sources
- New Evidence Uncovers Obama-Directed Creation of ...
- New Evidence of Obama Administration Conspiracy to ...
- Gabbard Releases New Documents Targeting Obama ...
- Gabbard says declassified report 'exposes' Obama ...
- Gabbard claim of anti-Trump conspiracy not backed by ...
- Trump's spy chief claims Obama administration ...
- Tulsi Gabbard misleads about Obama-era assessment on Russia
- Gabbard's Misleading 'Coup' Claim
