The truth surrounding the 'Russia scandal' that shook the 2016 U.S. presidential election is once again stirring the nation.
Former U.S. intelligence officials have recently alleged that the 'Russia scandal was in fact orchestrated by the Barack Obama administration.'
On the 20th (local time), the major U.S. social media platforms saw 'Obama' and 'treason' trending together.
The recent Fox News report has reignited the controversy.
Multiple former intelligence officials revealed in a recent Fox News interview that 'the White House pressured intelligence agencies to conclude that Russia was helping Trump during the Obama administration.'
At the time, intelligence agencies believed that Russia attempted hacking to 'sow distrust in the election.' However, intelligence officials claimed that the White House distorted this into 'support for Trump's election.'
The key evidence they presented is an internal report from the National Security Agency (NSA) written in January 2017 but not publicly released for a long time.
According to this report, the NSA found no evidence that Russian hacking was aimed at aiding a specific candidate. The report concluded that the main goal was 'to spread doubt about the U.S. election system.'
Fox News reported that key figures from the Obama administration, including John Brennan, Director General of the CIA, Susan Rice, National Security Advisor, John Kerry, Secretary of State, Loretta Lynch, Attorney General, and Andrew McCabe, Deputy Director of the FBI, were present at the meeting.
However, this content was excluded from the final intelligence community assessment (ICA) in which the CIA, FBI, and NSA participated. The release was also delayed during the declassification process.
According to Fox News, James Clapper, the Director General of National Intelligence (DNI) who attended the meeting, is said to have sent an email to intelligence leaders asking them to 'prepare a new report at the request of the president.'
The Russia scandal is the allegation that President Trump received secret assistance from Vladimir Putin's Russian regime in winning against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the November 2016 election.
At the time, intelligence agencies, including the CIA, jointly prepared a report stating that 'right after the November 2016 election, Russia hacked emails from senior officials of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton campaign to help Trump win.'
This scandal has haunted President Trump throughout his presidency. In 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded after a two-year investigation that he found 'no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.'
Despite the conclusion that 'there was no collusion,' the latest revelations are expected to reignite the debate surrounding the nature of the Russia scandal.
The Trump administration asserts that new evidence has emerged to support their previous claim of 'political witch hunt.'
In contrast, the Democratic side argues that 'Russia's interference in the election is an obvious fact already confirmed in Senate Intelligence Committee reports,' and they dismiss it as political 'distraction.'