Previously classified documents released Friday suggested the Obama administration withheld a key intelligence briefing that contradicted allegations of Russian election interference from then President-elect Donald Trump.
The Office of Director of National Intelligence’s (ODNI) report stated that “foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. Presidential election outcome” during the 2016 election.
The findings, which would have directly contradicted media reports and intelligence leaks alleging Russian interference, was ultimately pulled from the Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) just days after Trump’s victory — despite being cleared for inclusion, according to files released by the ODNI. (RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard Releases Evidence Of ‘Years-Long Coup’ On Trump)
Following Trump’s 2016 victory, a PBD was drafted by the intelligence community (IC )December 7 to examine the potential impact of cyber hacks on the election results, but it was “killed” by a senior PBD official who cited “new guidance,” according to ODNI.
The flash point of the revelations was when the intelligence community (IC) omitted evidence showing there was no evidence of large-scale foreign tampering in the 2016 election, according to journalist Matt Taibbi.
Trump was entitled to read the PDB as president-elect, and he would have seen the IC’s findings, Taibbi noted in a Monday Substack piece.
Those findings demonstrated that “Russian and criminal actors did not impact” the 2016 election, according to the ODNI’s report.
Trump’s former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, “was reading the PDBs at that point” and told Taibbi that if published, “[he] would have seen it.”
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 14: Former U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn looks on before U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Justice Department March 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. As he has used the department to punish enemies, Trump is expected to deliver what the White House calls a law-and-order speech and outline steps he will take to counter “weaponization” of the department. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Flynn added that the last-minute decision to halt the PDB may have “very likely” been because he was reading the briefings, according to Taibbi.
“We have no evidence of cyber manipulation of election infrastructure intended to alter results,” read an ODNI 2016 talking point, according to the memo.
Instead of the PDB, a National Security Council Principals Committee (PC) gathered December 9 for a meeting.
The meeting of top cabinet officials resulted in an email — “POTUS Tasking on Russia Election Meddling” — in which the IC prepared to create an “assessment per the president’s request.”
The ODNI’s Friday report said “Deep State officials in the IC” then started leaking to the media and asserting Russia influenced the outcome of the 2016 election.
The allegations of Russian interference resulted in years of investigations, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller ultimately discovered no evidence the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
