Last week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a whistleblower report alleging that an Obama-era intelligence official pressured a senior analyst to falsely claim that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump. The whistleblower, involved in the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), testified that they were urged to align their views with a revised assessment to sway the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The analyst refused, citing a commitment to intelligence standards and ethics.

The revised 2017 ICA, signed by the CIA, FBI, and NSA—but not the DIA—heavily relied on the now-discredited Steele dossier and concluded that the Kremlin intervened to support Trump. According to the whistleblower, a supervisor insisted, “You need to TRUST ME on this,” and even suggested Putin had compromising material on Trump. Despite pressure, the whistleblower refused to alter their conclusions.

The documents also reveal that the analyst made repeated efforts to raise concerns about the revised ICA and the information it was based on. These efforts included reaching out to oversight officials such as Special Counsel John Durham, the intelligence community’s inspector general, and Senator Mark Warner. However, all attempts were unsuccessful, and the analyst’s warnings went unheeded.

Gabbard responded by calling the situation a “treasonous conspiracy” meant to delegitimize President Trump’s 2016 victory. She accused the Obama administration of leading a “years-long coup” against the Trump presidency and praised the whistleblower’s courage in standing up against what she described as the “weaponization of intelligence.”

Vice President JD Vance also commented on the report, stating that the disclosures may soon lead to indictments. He described the whistleblower’s account as clear evidence of serious legal violations committed during the Russiagate investigation and hinted that accountability is finally on the horizon.