The United States Justice department has directed federal prosecutors to launch a grand jury probe
The allegations are that senior officials in the former president Barack Obama’s administration manufactured intelligence on Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections
US Attorney General Pam Bondi has reportedly made the strike force based on claims made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard
The United States Justice department has directed federal prosecutors to launch a grand jury probe into allegations that senior officials in the former president Barack Obama’s administration manufactured intelligence on Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi has reportedly made the strike force based on claims made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has alleged the "weaponisation of the US intelligence community."
Fox News first reported that Bondi has directed a federal prosecutor to present department evidence collected in the case to a grand jury. The jury could consider indictments if the department pursues a criminal case. Gabbard has made claims that recently declassified documents have highlighted how a “treasonous conspiracy” was conducted to undermine Donald Trump’s victorious campaign in the 2016 elections.
Donald Trump supported the comments made by Gabbard and posted on his TRUTH Social platform stating "The TRUTH always wins out. This is great news."
Trump had earlier accused Obama of treason claiming to falsely tie him to Russia and undermine his presidential campaign where he defeated the Democrat’s candidate Hillary Clinton.
A spokesperson for Obama dismissed the claims as "ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” Reuters reported.
An assessment made by the US intelligence agencies was published in 2019 which asserted that Russian bot farms, disinformation and hacking were employed to undermine Clinton’s campaign in 2016. However, the assessment showed Russia's impact as limited and likely to have had no influence on voter behavior during the elections.
Russia has denied interfering in any US election.