Bolton is losing it.
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton is pushing back against a stunning allegation from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard—one that has rocked Washington and drawn fresh attention to the Obama administration’s handling of intelligence during the 2016 election.
In a Friday appearance on NewsNation’s “On Balance,” Bolton flatly rejected Gabbard’s claim that Barack Obama and his top officials may have committed criminal acts by manipulating U.S. intelligence to damage Donald Trump’s candidacy.
“She’s weaving together unrelated threads, inflating what congressional reports actually said, and inventing evidence that doesn’t exist,” Bolton said. “If you actually dig into it, the whole thing falls apart fast.”
But not everyone is so quick to dismiss it.
Declassified Report Sparks Firestorm
Gabbard recently released a long-classified 2020 House Intelligence Committee report that paints a damning picture of how the CIA handled Russia-related intelligence in 2016.
The report revealed the CIA “did not adhere to the tenets” of proper analysis. Worse, its conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin favored Trump was based on “one scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment”—not hard evidence.
Gabbard, a former Democrat turned fierce critic of the Washington establishment, called it “the most egregious weaponization of intelligence in American history.”
She didn’t stop there.
Obama, Brennan, Comey Named in Criminal Referral
In a move that has sent shockwaves through the political class, Gabbard named former President Barack Obama, ex-CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, and former DNI James Clapper in a formal criminal referral to the Department of Justice.
President Trump responded forcefully, accusing Obama of “treason” and calling on the DOJ to investigate immediately.
The allegations—combined with the newly released documents—have reignited conservative concerns about a politically motivated deep state operation to interfere in the 2016 election and undermine Trump before he ever took office.
Bolton Warns Against DOJ Action—But Doubts Remain
Bolton, a longtime Trump critic and hawkish figure in foreign policy, admitted that previous reports questioned how the Obama administration handled intelligence. But he insisted there’s no clear basis for criminal charges.
“There’s nothing here that rises to the level of a legitimate investigation,” he claimed.
Yet many conservatives aren’t so sure.
As new details emerge, a growing number of Americans are asking: Was the Russia hoax just the beginning of something much darker?
Gabbard’s disclosures have rekindled interest in long-standing questions: Who ordered the smear job on Trump? How deep does the rot go? And why is the DOJ dragging its feet?
What Comes Next?
While legacy media outlets are downplaying the revelations, conservative Americans aren’t buying it. They’re demanding accountability—from the DOJ, the CIA, and from anyone who played a role in targeting a duly elected president.
With more documents expected to be declassified in the coming weeks, this story is far from over.