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DNI Tulsi Gabbard declassified Trump-Russia docs: Here’s what they say

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a slew of documents this month, revealing that Obama administration officials "manufactured" intelligence to push the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.

Here’s a look at the newly declassified records:

Documents revealed that in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community consistently assessed that Russia was "probably not trying … to influence the election by using cyber means."

One instance was on Dec. 7, 2016, weeks after the election. Then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s talking points stated, "Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. presidential election outcome."

Fox News Digital obtained a declassified copy of the Presidential Daily Brief, which was prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, with reporting from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, State Department and open sources, for Obama, dated Dec. 8, 2016.

"We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent U.S. election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure," the Presidential Daily Brief stated. "Russian Government-affiliated actors most likely compromised an Illinois voter registration database and unsuccessfully attempted the same in other states."

But the brief stated that it was "highly unlikely" the effort "would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote result."

"Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes," it stated. 

The brief noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed that any Russian activities "probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates."

The brief stated that cyber criminals "tried to steal data and to interrupt election processes by targeting election infrastructure, but these actions did not achieve a notable disruptive effect."

Fox News Digital obtained declassified, but redacted, communications from the FBI in the Presidential Daily Brief, stating that it "should not go forward until the FBI" had shared its "concerns."

Those communications revealed that the FBI drafted a "dissent" to the original Presidential Daily Brief. 

OBAMA ADMIN 'MANUFACTURED' INTELLIGENCE TO CREATE 2016 RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE NARRATIVE, DOCUMENTS SHOW

The communications revealed that the brief was expected to be published Dec. 9, 2016, the following day, but later communications revealed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, "based on some new guidance," decided to "push back publication" of the Presidential Daily Brief. 

"It will not run tomorrow and is not likely to run until next week," wrote the deputy director of the Presidential Daily Brief at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose name is redacted. 

The following day, Dec. 9, 2016, a meeting convened in the White House Situation Room, with the subject line starting: "Summary of Conclusions for PC Meeting on a Sensitive Topic (REDACTED.)"

The meeting included top officials in the National Security Council, Clapper, then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, among others, to discuss Russia.

The declassified meeting record, obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed that principals "agreed to recommend sanctioning of certain members of the Russian military intelligence and foreign intelligence chains of command responsible for cyber operations as a response to cyber activity that attempted to influence or interfere with U.S. elections, if such activity meets the requirements" from an executive order that demanded the blocking of property belonging to people engaged in cyber activities.

After the meeting, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Clapper’s executive assistant emailed intelligence community leaders tasking them to create a new intelligence community assessment "per the president’s request" that detailed the "tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election."

"ODNI will lead this effort with participation from CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS," the record states.

Later, Obama officials "leaked false statements to media outlets" claiming that "Russia has attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election."

By Jan. 6, 2017, a new Intelligence Community Assessment was released that, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, "directly contradicted the IC assessments that were made throughout the previous six months." 

Intelligence officials told Fox News Digital that the ICA was "politicized" because it "suppressed intelligence from before and after the election showing Russia lacked intent and capability to hack the 2016 election." 

Officials also said it deceived the American public "by claiming the IC made no assessment on the ‘impact’ of Russian activities," when the intelligence community "did, in fact, assess for impact." 

"The unpublished December PDB stated clearly that Russia ‘did not impact’ the election through cyber hacks on the election," an official told Fox News Digital.

FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES

The official also said the ICA had assessed that "Russia was responsible for leaking data from the DNC and DCCC," while "failing to mention that FBI and NSA previously expressed low confidence in this attribution." 

Officials said the intelligence was "politicized" and then "used as the basis for countless smears seeking to delegitimize President Trump’s victory, the years-long Mueller investigation, two Congressional impeachments, high level officials being investigated, arrested, and thrown in jail, heightened US-Russia tensions, and more."

A report prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2020 said the intelligence community did not have any direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but, at the "unusual" direction of then-President Barack Obama, published "potentially biased" or "implausible" intelligence suggesting otherwise.

The report, based on an investigation launched by former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was dated Sept. 18, 2020. At the time of the publication of the report, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was the chairman of the committee.

The report has never before been released to the public and instead has remained highly classified within the intelligence community.

Fox News Digital obtained the "fully-sourced limited-access investigation report that was drafted and stored in a limited-access vault at CIA Headquarters." The report includes some redactions.

BRENNAN DIRECTED PUBLICATION OF 'IMPLAUSIBLE' REPORTS CLAIMING PUTIN PREFERRED TRUMP IN 2016, HOUSE FOUND

The committee focused on the creation of the Intelligence Community Assessment of 2017, in which then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed for the inclusion of the now-discredited anti-Trump dossier despite knowing it was based largely on "internet rumor," as Fox News Digital previously reported.

According to the report, the ICA was a "high-profile product ordered by the President, directed by senior IC agency heads, and created by just five CIA analysts, using one principal drafter."

"Production of the ICA was subject to unusual directives from the President and senior political appointees, and particularly DCIA," the report states. "The draft was not properly coordinated within CIA or the IC, ensuring it would be published without significant challenges to its conclusions."

The committee found that the five CIA analysts and drafter "rushed" the ICA’s production "in order to publish two weeks before President-elect Trump was sworn-in."

"Hurried coordination and limited access to the draft reduced opportunities for the IC to discover misquoting of sources and other tradecraft concerns," the report states.

The report states that Brennan "ordered the post-election publication of 15 reports containing previously collected but unpublished intelligence, three of which were substandard — containing information that was unclear, of uncertain origin, potentially biased, or implausible — and those became foundational sources for the ICA judgements that Putin preferred Trump over Clinton."

"The ICA misrepresented these reports as reliable, without mentioning their significant underlying flaws," the committee found.

"One scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports constitutes the only classified information cited to suggest Putin ‘aspired’ to help Trump win," the report states, adding that the ICA "ignored or selectively quoted reliable intelligence reports that challenged — and in some cases undermined — judgments that Putin sought to elect Trump."

The report also states that the ICA "failed to consider plausible alternative explanations of Putin’s intentions indicated by reliable intelligence and observed Russian actions."

The committee also found that two senior CIA officers warned Brennan that "we don’t have direct information that Putin wanted to get Trump elected."

Despite those warnings, the Obama administration moved to publish the ICA.

The ICA "did not cite any report where Putin directly indicated helping Trump win was the objective."

The ICA, according to the report, excluded "significant intelligence" and "ignored or selectively quoted" reliable intelligence in an effort to push the Russia narrative.

The report also includes intelligence from a longtime Putin confidant who explained to investigators that "Putin told him he did not care who won the election," and that Putin "had often outlined the weaknesses of both major candidates."

The report also states that the ICA omitted context showing that the claim that Putin preferred Trump was "implausible —if not ridiculous."

The committee also found that the ICA suppressed intelligence that showed that Russia was actually planning for a Hillary Clinton victory because "they knew where (she) stood" and believed Russia "could work with her."

The committee also noted that the ICA "did not address why Putin chose not to leak more discrediting material on Clinton, even as polls tightened in the final weeks of the election."

The committee also found that the ICA suppressed intelligence showing that Putin was "not only demonstrating a clear lack of concern for Trump’s election fate," but also indicated "that he preferred to see Secretary Clinton elected, knowing she would be a more vulnerable President."

One section of the declassified House Intelligence Committee report states that the material in Putin’s possession included Russian intelligence on Democratic National Committee information allegedly showing that senior Democratic leaders found Clinton’s health to be "extraordinarily alarming." 

"As of September 2016, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service had DNC information that President Obama and Party leaders found the state of Secretary Clinton’s health to be ‘extraordinarily alarming,’ and felt it could have ‘serious negative impact’ on her election prospects," the report states. "Her health information was being kept in ‘strictest secrecy’ and even close advisors were not being fully informed." 

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service also allegedly had DNC communications that showed that "Clinton was suffering from ‘intensified psycho-emotional problems, including uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness.'" 

"Clinton was placed on a daily regimen of ‘heavy tranquilizers’ and while afraid of losing, she remained ‘obsessed with a thirst for power,’" the report states.

The Russians also allegedly had information that Clinton "suffered from ‘Type 2 diabetes, Ischemic heart disease, deep vein thrombosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.’"

HILLARY CLINTON AIDE DISMISSES TULSI GABBARD'S CLAIMS AS 'RIDICULOUS'

The Russians also allegedly possessed a "campaign email discussing a plan approved by Secretary Clinton to link Putin and Russian hackers to candidate Trump in order to ‘distract the American public’ from the Clinton email server scandal." 

Gabbard, during the White House press briefing Wednesday, said there were "high-level DNC emails that detailed evidence of Hillary's, quote, psycho-emotional problems, uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression and cheerfulness, and that then-Secretary Clinton was allegedly on a daily regimen of heavy tranquilizers." 

A tranquilizer is a drug used to reduce mental disturbance, such as anxiety and tension. Tranquilizers are typically prescribed to individuals suffering from anxiety, sleep disturbances and related conditions affecting their mental and physical health. 

A Clinton aide dismissed the claims as "ridiculous." 

Neither Clinton nor Obama responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. 

Trump’s Iran strikes follow long pattern of presidents sidestepping Congress

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President Donald Trump’s decision to order military strikes on Iran without first seeking congressional approval was met with immediate, yet familiar, criticism from lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Presidents have for decades taken actions similar to Trump's and attracted backlash for skirting Congress’s authority. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war but presidents the power to control the military and foreign policy.

Gene Healy, a senior vice president with the libertarian Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital that in terms of "crossing a constitutional Rubicon, this is territory that presidents have been dancing over since at least Harry Truman."

"In each case, it’s at odds with the original design of constitutional war powers, which is that one single person should not have the power to embroil the United States in foreign wars," Healy said.

SATELLITE IMAGE SHOWS FORDOW NUCLEAR FACILITY AFTER MASSIVE BOMB STRIKE

His think tank also rebuked former President Barack Obama in 2011 after Obama unilaterally authorized airstrikes in Libya as part of a NATO-led effort to enforce a no-fly zone in the country and protect civilians there.

"The president is derelict in his duty to obey the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. And Congress is derelict in its duty to assert its constitutional authority," another member of the thinktank wrote at the time.

Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973 to install guardrails for presidents who seek to authorize military action, but critics have said the resolution has lacked potency and that the legislative branch needs to reassert its authority by passing a tougher policy or making good on government funding threats.

Bob Bauer, who served as Obama’s White House counsel, recently spoke with former federal prosecutor Jack Goldsmith in an interview on Substack about what they viewed as the ever-expanding war powers of the president and the ever-shrinking war powers of Congress.

Bauer said that generally, presidents have consulted with their White House counsel and other agencies to make sure they have acquired enough support behind-the-scenes ahead of any anticipated military action.

"It’s just generally understood that this is a choice the president can make," Bauer said, adding, "This is not a tenable situation over the long run, and we’re facing the consequences again now."

TRUMP HINTS AT REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN WHILE DECLARING ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN’

Trump garnered informal support for his actions from crucial members of Congress, including the Senate and House Republican leaders, but lawmakers at the farthest ends of the political spectrum lashed out at him.

"The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on X, calling for Trump’s impeachment.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., blasted Trump's actions as unconstitutional, saying Congress must pass a resolution giving the president permission to carry out a military act. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., did not outright address Congress’ role in declaring war, but signaled on Monday on X that she opposed Trump’s attack on Iran because, in her view, it defied his Make America Great Again ethos.

The president’s actions were a "complete bait and switch to please the neocons, warmongers, military industrial complex contracts, and neocon tv personalities," Greene said.

The Office of Legal Counsel, which is part of the Department of Justice, justified Obama's attack on Libya in 2011 in a 14-page opinion, spelling out its position that the then-president did not flout the Constitution or the law by bypassing Congress.

'NOT CONSTITUTIONAL': CONGRESS EVOKES NEW WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REJECT TRUMP'S STRIKES ON IRAN

The Trump administration's justification for attacking Iranian nuclear facilities echoed sentiments from the Obama-era memo.

Both administrations cited a broad threat to "national interests" rather than a direct threat to the United States or a dire need for self-defense. Neither president's military actions included "regime change" as a goal, though Trump has since floated that language. 

Former President George H.W. Bush did not have explicit authorization from Congress to deploy thousands of troops to Somalia as part of a United Nations mission in 1992, nor did former President Bill Clinton when he sent troops to Bosnia in 1995 and intervened in the Kosovo conflict in 1999 by authorizing airstrikes against Serbian forces.

The Office of Legal Counsel typically advises the executive branch on the legality of its actions, and the memo on the Libya strikes cited a string of other examples that signal presidents have long tiptoed around seeking out congressional authorization, which would require a vote in the House and Senate.

The memo stated that "one possible" limit under the Constitution to a president circumventing Congress to use military force would be when the planned action "constitutes a ‘war’ within the meaning of the Declaration of War Clause."

"But the historical practice of presidential military action without congressional approval precludes any suggestion that Congress’s authority to declare war covers every military engagement, however limited, that the President initiates," the memo read.

Dick Durbin, No. 2 Senate Democrat, won’t seek re-election

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Sen. Dick Durbin, D- Ill., the Senate Democratic whip and the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2026. 

Durbin, 80, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, made the announcement in a video message on X Wednesday.

"The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy," Durbin said. 

"I truly love the job of being a United States Senator. But in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch. So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term."

PATEL CAMP DECRIES DURBIN ACCUSATIONS AS ‘POLITICALLY MOTIVATED’ ATTEMPT TO DERAIL FBI CONFIRMATION

Durbin was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1982 and served seven terms before succeeding his mentor, Paul Simon, in the Senate in 1996.

His retirement is expected to set off a flurry of activity among a scrum of would-be successors, both Democratic and Republican. 

Durbin represents Illinois, a solidly Democratic state, and Democrats are very confident that they’ll hold the seat in next year’s midterm elections with the GOP only capturing one Illinois Senate seat in the last 40 years. 

But President Donald Trump did make gains in Illinois in last year’s election, losing the state by 11 points, an improvement from his 17-point defeat in the 2020 election. Democrats will face an uphill battle to try to reclaim the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority.

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) communications director Johanna Rodriguez said that Democrats like Durbin are leaving office because of losing policies.

"Senate Democrats continue to jump ship as their party’s brand tanks because they prioritize criminal illegal aliens over the Americans who elected them," Rodriguez said.

Among the Democrats considering a 2026 run to succeed Durbin in the Senate are Reps. Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lauren Underwood, as well as Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and state Sen. Robert Peters.

Durbin's career to date was hailed by former President Barack Obama, who he said played a pivotal role in his own career and is "one of the finest" senators in the country.

"Dick Durbin has always fought the good fight on behalf of working families and his integrity shines through in everything he does," Obama wrote. "It’s also true that I would not have been a United States Senator – and certainly would not have been President – had it not been for Dick’s support. He has been a great and loyal friend, and Michelle and I wish him and Loretta all the best in their next chapter."

Durbin led the drive to ban smoking on airplanes as a junior member of Congress, which helped to usher in the smoke-free movement with legislation signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

DURBIN FACES BACKLASH FOR REMARK ON TRANS INCLUSION IN WOMEN'S SPORTS

He played a key role in helping to pass the First Step Act in 2018. The bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation was signed by President Trump and reduced mandatory minimums for certain nonviolent drug offenses, created early release incentives and improved prison conditions. 

Durbin is a longtime advocate for immigration reform and co-authored the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Although the act did not pass, Durbin's advocacy contributed to the establishment of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides those immigrants with temporary protection from deportation and work authorization.

He also advocates for stricter gun laws and supported the Affordable Care Act, also referred to as Obamacare. Durbin voted to convict Trump in impeachment trials held by the Senate in 2020 and 2021, although Trump was acquitted in both.

Meanwhile, Durbin's fellow Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth shared Obama's sentiments. 

"Dick Durbin is, and will always be, a giant of the United States Senate. He has dedicated his life to making our state—as well as our nation—stronger, and we are all better for it," Duckworth said. 

Duckworth also recalled meeting Durbin for the first time weeks after she lost both legs when her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004, noting his empathy and mentorship during her recovery.

"When Dick looked at me, he saw past the wounds, saw past the wheelchair," Duckworth said. "He saw a soldier in search of her next mission. And he recognized well before I did that just because I would no longer be flying Black Hawks for the Army didn’t mean that I couldn’t find a new way to serve my nation."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Who is Norm Eisen? Meet the anti-Trump attorney repping FBI agents suing the DOJ

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One of the attorneys representing anonymous FBI agents suing the Department of Justice to block the public identification of agents who investigated Jan. 6 is a longtime anti-Trump lawyer who worked with House Democrats on President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. 

Norm Eisen is an attorney, CNN legal analyst and expert at the Brookings Institution public policy think tank who previously served as the U.S.' ambassador to the Czech Republic and special counsel for ethics and government reform under the Obama administration, when he earned the nicknames "Dr. No" and "The Fun Sponge" for reportedly ensuring the administration abide by ethics rules. 

Eisen appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing before U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb involving a pair of lawsuits filed by two groups of FBI agents who investigated the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol Building as well as former special counsel Jack Smith's investigations and cases against Trump. 

Eisen serves as executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund, which filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the FBI agents who investigated Trump-related cases. State Democracy Defenders Fund is a nonprofit that bills itself as focused on defeating "election sabotage" and "autocracy in 2025 — and beyond."

FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS

"Credible reports indicate the FBI has been directed to systematically terminate all Bureau employees who had any involvement in investigations related to President Trump, and that Trump’s allies in the DOJ are planning to publicly disseminate the names of those employees they plan to terminate," State Democracy Defenders Fund wrote in its press release of the emergency order to block the public release of FBI personnel names involved in the Jan. 6 investigation. 

Fox News Digital took a look back on Eisen's rhetoric and actions across the past few years and found that he has repeatedly been at the forefront of the legal cases against Trump, notably serving as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment of Trump beginning in 2019. 

FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION

House Democrats tapped Eisen — who early in his career specialized in financial fraud litigation and investigations — to help lead the first impeachment against the 45th president, which accused Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to allegedly seeking foreign interference from Ukraine to boost his re-election efforts in 2020. The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump, but the Senate ultimately voted to acquit him. 

Eisen revealed following the impeachment effort that he initially drafted 10 articles of impeachment against Trump, not just two, which would have included issues such as "hush money" payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels. Although the payments were not included in the impeachment articles, they were a focal point of the Manhattan v. Trump trial that found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024. 

FBI AGENTS DETAIL J6 ROLE IN EXHAUSTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE EMPLOYEES 'WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILL OUT'

"This was only the third impeachment trial of a president in American history, so it's remarkable that we even got those two," Eisen said in an NPR interview in 2020. "I will tell you that those two articles are a microcosm of all 10 of the impeachment articles that we drafted. They have features of all 10." 

Eisen told Fox News Digital, when asked about his history of anti-Trump cases, that he was initially open to working with the first Trump administration, but that the president, "turned against the Constitution."

"I was initially open to Trump and even advised his first presidential transition," Eisen told Fox Digital in an emailed comment on Friday. "But he turned against the Constitution and laws."

"In his first administration and now, he was and is using the presidency to break the law and to help himself and his cronies like Elon Musk — not the American people," he continued. "To ensure the integrity of our democracy, I am pushing back through the bipartisan institutions I work with such as State Democracy Defenders Fund, which has strong conservative representation on our board." 

Eisen is the co-founder of the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which made waves in 2023 and 2024 when it helped to initiate a Colorado court case to remove Trump from the primary ballot in the state, The New York Times reported.  

The lawsuit, which ultimately landed in the Supreme Court, argued that Trump should be deemed ineligible from holding political office under a Civil War-era insurrection clause and that his name should thus be barred from appearing on the 2024 ballot. The group said that Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters breached the U.S. Capitol, violated a clause in the 14th Amendment that prevents officers of the United States, members of Congress or state legislatures who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the Constitution from holding political office.

Other states made similar legal claims to remove Trump, but each of the nine Supreme Court justices ruled in Trump’s favor in a decision released last March, ending the Colorado case and all others that were similar. 

DOJ DIRECTS FBI TO FIRE 8 TOP OFFICIALS, IDENTIFY EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN JAN. 6, HAMAS CASES FOR REVIEW

The State Democracy Defenders Action, which Eisen co-founded, has also been involved with other Trump-involved court cases, including in the Manhattan v. Trump case. The group helped file an amicus brief in February, advocating that presiding Judge Juan Merchan sentence Trump just days ahead of his inauguration. Trump was ultimately sentenced to unconditional discharge, meaning he faces no fines or jail time. 

​​Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan case in May 2024. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office worked to prove that Trump had falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star, Stormy Daniels, ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.

Eisen also founded another group, the States United Democracy Center, which filed an amicus brief in 2024 in Fulton County, Georgia, court, advocating that District Attorney Fani Willis' racketeering case against Trump not be dismissed. 

ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR OPENING JACK SMITH ELECTOR CASE AGAINST PRESIDENT: WHISTLEBLOWER

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in December 2024 that Willis and her office are barred from prosecuting the case. The case worked to prove that Trump had led a "criminal racketeering enterprise" to change the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia. Trump has maintained his innocence in that case, as well as the other federal and state charges brought against him between the 2020 and 2024 election, slamming them as Democrat lawfare. 

Eisen, in his capacity as executive chair and founder of State Democracy Defenders Fund, also sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking Committee Member Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. on Monday to speak out against Kash Patel's nomination as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration. Eisen said he had ethics concerns surrounding Patel's previous work in Qatar. 

MAJOR FBI CHANGES KASH PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 IF CONFIRMED AS DIRECTOR

The FBI lawsuits followed acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sending a memo to acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll in late January, directing him to fire eight FBI employees who worked on the Jan. 6 investigation, as well as a terror case related to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel. The memo also informed the acting director to identify all current and former FBI personnel who took part in the case. 

The memo's directive to identify those involved in the case sparked the two FBI lawsuits filed Tuesday, which seek to stop the collection of names and their public release. 

"The individuals being targeted have served in law enforcement for decades, often putting their lives on the line for the citizens of this country," Eisen said in a statement provided in State Democracy Defenders Fund's press release announcing it filed an emergency order on behalf of the FBI agents. "Their rights and privacy must be preserved."

The judge temporarily barred the Trump DOJ on Thursday from disclosing information on the agents until she hears arguments and determines whether to issue a temporary restraining order. 

Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Obama, in 1st remarks since election, says ‘a line has been crossed’ if ‘one side’ makes certain moves

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Former President Barack Obama declared that if "one side" attempts to cement "a permanent grip on power" through "suppressing votes," "politicizing" the military or weaponizing the judiciary and criminal justice system to target opponents, "a line has been crossed."

His comments came even as many Americans believe that President-elect Donald Trump has been unfairly targeted in unwarranted politically motivated cases. 

Obama made the comments during a speech on Thursday during the Obama Foundation's Democracy Forum. The speech marked his first public remarks following the 2024 election.

"You see, it's easy to give democracy lip service when it delivers the outcomes we want. It's when we don't get what we want that our commitment to democracy is tested," he said.

‘DEPORTER-IN-CHIEF’ OBAMA SURPASSED DEPORTATIONS UNDER TRUMP'S FIRST TERM

During his first term in office, Trump was acquitted in the Senate after two separate but ultimately unsuccessful impeachment efforts, and in the wake of his White House tenure, he has been slapped with multiple indictments, which many viewed as lawfare against the Republican figure.

While some Republicans have advocated for Biden to be impeached, the GOP has not done so, even with control of the House chamber.

During the speech, Obama also advocated for "pluralism."

"It means that in a democracy we all have to find a way to live alongside individuals and groups who are different than us," he said.

Obama's remarks came after Biden made a comment earlier this year that many perceived as him referring to Trump supporters as "garbage." In a post on X, Biden distanced himself from the remarks and claimed he was referring to the "hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporters at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage" instead.

‘OBAMA BROS’ TRASH BIDEN FOR MAKING DEFENDERS LOOK ‘STUPID’ WITH HUNTER PARDON: ‘TYPICAL, LYING POLITICIAN’

Democrats have consistently launched invective against Trump — including Biden, who said that the Republican was a "genuine danger to American security" — but it was Trump who was the target of several assassination attempts in the run-up to the 2024 election.

Obama, in his remarks, insisted that he is "convinced that if we want democracy as we understand it to survive," people must work for a renewed dedication to pluralist principles. 

"Because the alternative is what we've seen here in the United States and in many democracies around the globe: Not just more gridlock, not just public cynicism, but an increasing willingness" among "politicians and their followers to violate democratic norms, to do anything they can to get their way, to use the power of the state to target critics, and journalists, and political rivals, and to even resort to violence" to obtain and retain power. 

OBAMA RELEASES ELECTION DAY VIDEO SAYING ‘THIS IS GOING TO BE CLOSE’

The former president added that bridge building represents the "best tool" to create "lasting change."

"Pluralism is not about holding hands and singing Kumbaya. It is not about abandoning your convictions and folding when things get tough. It is about recognizing that in a democracy power comes from forging alliances and building coalitions and making room in those coalitions not only for the woke but also for the waking," he said.

Obama served two consecutive terms spanning from early 2009 through early 2017, when he was succeeded by Trump.

Former Burisma lawyer registers as foreign agent more than seven years later amid Hunter Biden investigations

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A lawyer who previously represented the head of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that once employed Hunter Biden, registered retroactively as a foreign agent for the work he did for the natural gas company seven years ago.

The registration from John Buretta came in documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires lawfirms and lobbyists to disclose their work representing the interests of foreign clients.

The disclosure from Buretta for the 2016 work he did for Mykola Zlochevsky — who co-founded Burisma Holdings in 2002 — came more than seven years after the fact, raising questions and concerns about why Hunter Biden, who also performed work on behalf of Burisma and Zlochevsky at the time, did not register as a foreign agent under FARA.

Buretta previously worked as a defense lawyer for Zlochevsky amid corruption investigations into the Burisma chief by the Ukrainian government and, according to FARA documents, U.S. authorities.

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY 'COERCED' BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

In the forms filed this week, Buretta's law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, noted, "In January 2016, Mr. Buretta was retained to represent Mykola Zlochevsky in connection with possible investigations by governmental authorities in the United States. The representation thereafter broadened to include Burisma Holdings Limited, as well as governmental investigations in Ukraine, and continued until April 2017. The representation included both registrable and non-registrable activities. This registration and related materials cover all interactions with U.S. government officials in the course of the representation."

As part of his representation of Zlochevsky, the law firm noted in the form that Buretta met with three Obama administration officials in March 2016 and sent another U.S. government official a letter in September 2016.

"In these interactions, Mr. Buretta identified his clients and presented facts relevant to potential U.S. and Ukrainian investigations, including information from a UK proceeding involving his clients," the law firm noted.

Buretta's law firm did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment, but in a statement to the Washington Examiner explained that the filing came after a discussion with the DOJ.

"After discussions with the Department of Justice regarding FARA’s scope, Cravath has filed a retroactive registration covering legal services provided to two former clients in March and September 2016, and a supplemental statement terminating the registration as of September 2016," a Cravath, Swaine & Moore spokesperson told the outlet.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CONSIDER HOLDING HUNTER BIDEN IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS

In recent years, the DOJ has strengthened its enforcement of FARA violations. During former President Donald Trump's administration, the DOJ prosecuted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for failing to register as a foreign agent for work he performed in Ukraine.

Unlike Buretta, however, Manafort, who was eventually sentenced to prison, was not allowed to retroactively file a FARA disclosure to avoid charges being levied against him.

Included in the Thursday FARA filing was a breakdown of how much money Cravath received from Burisma Holdings. From January 2016 to August 2017, the firm was paid nearly $350,000, according to the documents.

The filing from Buretta and his attorneys comes as House Republicans continue to investigate Hunter Biden, who has been accused of violating FARA, wire fraud, money laundering, and other alleged crimes.

Then-Vice President Biden and Hunter Biden allegedly "coerced" Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company fired, according to allegations contained in an unclassified FBI document released last July by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Grassley said he released the document, which describes an alleged criminal bribery scheme involving Joe Biden and a Ukrainian business executive, so that the American people can "read this document for themselves without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats."

The document in question was an FBI-generated FD-1023 form — a confidential human source (CHS) reporting document — that reflects the FBI's interview with a "highly credible" confidential source who detailed multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top executive of Burisma Holdings over the course of several years starting in 2015. Hunter Biden, at the time, sat on the board of Burisma.

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly lucrative role on the board, receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin were not fired.

Biden allies maintain the then-vice president pushed for Shokin's firing due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption, and say that his firing, at the time, was the policy position of the U.S. and international community.

The House Oversight Committee next week will hold a meeting to consider a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after violating his congressional subpoenas.

The Oversight Committee and House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Hunter Biden for a closed-door deposition last month as part of the House Republican-led impeachment inquiry against President Biden. He defied the subpoena and held a press conference outside the Capitol complex instead.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

December deadlines: Things are a little different around Capitol Hill before the Christmas cutoff

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

Every December seemingly has a deadline on Capitol Hill.

To impeach the President.

To fund the government.

To avoid the fiscal cliff.

To raise the debt ceiling.

To approve a payroll tax cut.

To pass tax reform.

To allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

To pass Obamacare.

To undo Obamacare.

But things are a little different around Capitol Hill this December.

CONGRESS AIMS TO HOLD VOTE TO INITIATE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

There’s no single, sweeping issue that is consuming Congress. Sure, there are lots of things to do. In fact, big things — which we’ll outline shortly. But the feeling this Christmas at the Capitol is different. No government shutdown is looming (talk to us about that in January and February). And while Congress has faced concrete deadlines before, there is no absolute, drop-dead date to complete anything.

Except there is a cutoff point. It’s the same as every other year: December 25th.

Lawmakers have three weeks to handle lots of things.

But it’s unclear if they’ll crank through them. And that’s why there’s the potential for Congress to linger in Washington and maybe — just maybe — still slam into the December 25th deadline.

Let’s start with impeachment.

No, the House is not going to impeach President Biden before Christmas. You might remember that December is kind of "impeachment month" on Capitol Hill. The House impeached President Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998, for obstructing justice and lying after his affair with Monica Lewinsky. The House impeached former President Trump — the first time — on Dec. 18, 2019, for abusing his power and obstructing justice as it pertained to Ukraine.

Notice a pattern?

While those votes were actual resolutions to impeach the President, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is just pushing a plan to formalize an impeachment inquiry. FOX is told the goal is to pass the impeachment probe resolution next week.

HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO HOW THE SANTOS EXPULSION WILL AMPLIFY PRESSURE ON DEMOCRATS TO DEAL WITH MEN

House Republicans have nibbled around the edges of impeachment for months. But the House never adopted a measure officially authorizing impeachment.

"Now we're being stonewalled by the White House because they're preventing at least two to three DOJ witnesses from coming forward," said Johnson on FOX. "So a formal impeachment inquiry vote on the floor will allow us to take it to the next necessary step. And I think it's something we have to do at this juncture."

Plus, Johnson needs to notch a political and legislative win.

Johnson hasn’t had much to crow about since he first clasped the Speaker’s gavel in October. He quickly passed a bill to boost Israel in its fight against Hamas. But since then, Johnson has presided over a House majority that encountered multiple stumbles in efforts to pass their own spending bills. The highlight of Johnson’s short tenure may have been the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. — which Johnson and other GOP leaders opposed.

But impeachment could boost the GOP — especially as Congress stares at the possibility of dual government shutdowns over the winter.

"If it goes to the floor, we're going to pass it. There's no question," said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., about an impeachment inquiry vote.

It’s about the math.

Republicans can only lose three votes on their side and prevail and still open an impeachment investigation. For months, moderates resisted an impeachment vote. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., initiated an impeachment inquiry — without an official vote — because he never had the votes. Moreover, McCarthy needed to do something to move the needle on his side of the aisle when GOP spending bills began stalling on the floor and conservatives grew restless over his debt ceiling pact with President Biden.

But votes to potentially launch an impeachment inquiry began to fall into place over the past few weeks. House Republicans believe things changed over Thanksgiving — after lawmakers were marooned in Washington for nearly 11 consecutive weeks since late summer.

"They met people in Walmart and people on Main Street, and they're like, ‘What in the world did the Bidens do to receive millions and millions of dollars from our enemies around the world? And did they not pay taxes on it?’ So they heard from their constituents," said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

Democrats accuse Republicans of a political diversion ahead of an election year.

GOOD TIDINGS AND CHEER, UNLESS YOU'RE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

"This is all part of a phony effort by extreme MAGA Republicans to distract the American people because they have no track record of accomplishment," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

But impeachment isn’t what is most vexing to many on Capitol Hill this December.

Major issues loom over passing the annual defense policy bill. But it faces a dispute over declassifying some information related to Unidentified Aeriel Phenomena (UAPs). Renewing the foreign surveillance counter-terrorism program known as "FISA." And then there is the big one: President Biden’s international aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The status of that bill is much harder to read because there’s no hard deadline — except Christmas. And the end of the year. And then when the focus pivots in January to averting a government shutdown.

To some, it would be hard to see Congress leaving town before the holiday without addressing Israel and Ukraine. Republicans insist that Democrats attach a robust border security plan to the package. However, Republicans aren’t even in agreement on what those border provisions might look like. But, if the plan blows up, Republicans hope to blame Democrats who are getting hammered politically for not tackling the border.

White House Budget Director Shalanda Young sent an urgent letter to lawmakers Monday, saying Congress was about to "kneecap" Ukraine by not passing the aid.

Talks over the border went sideways in recent days, perhaps scuttling the supplemental spending plan.

And if Congress doesn’t pass the international aid bill?

"You can bet Vladimir Putin is watching. Hamas is watching. Iran, President Xi, North Korea, all of our adversaries. They’re watching closely," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "If Congress fails to defend democracy in its hour of need because of border policies inspired by Donald Trump or Stephen Miller, the judgment of history will be harsh indeed."

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., lashed his colleagues across the aisle.

"Democrats appear to be hell-bent on exhausting every half-baked idea before they get serious about actually fixing our border," said McConnell. "Senate Republicans know that national security begins with border security. And we’ve made it crystal clear that in order to pass the Senate, any measure we take up in the coming days must include serious policy changes designed to get the Biden Administration’s border crisis under control."

So it’s unclear if the fight over the border and the international aid package could keep Congress here close to Christmas this year — entering the special legislative pantheon of five-alarm fires which have screwed up other holiday seasons on Capitol Hill.

But things are a little different around the Capitol this December.

And even if Congress abandons Washington without finishing everything, no one will be celebrating.

Schiff says Obama would have been impeached if he asked Russia to investigate Mitt Romney

Posted on by Brie Stimson
House manager Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Wednesday said former President Obama would have been impeached if he had done what Trump has been charged with in the first article of impeachment.