How Trump’s ‘no shrinking violets’ DOJ is digging in on Schiff’s mortgage dealings as legal peril looms

The Department of Justice is likely digging into Sen. Adam Schiff's mortgage paperwork trail stretching back to a Maryland home purchase from the early 2000s as it weighs whether it has an airtight case to potentially prosecute the longtime political foe of President Donald Trump, according to a Cornell Law School professor.

"The one thing they don't want to do is to bring a case that fails," William Jacobson told Fox Digital in a Zoom interview, referring to the DOJ potentially investigating Schiff's alleged mortgage fraud. Jacobson is a clinical professor and the Director of the Securities Law Clinic at Cornell. 

"Either it fails legally, or it fails in court. They don't want to lose that case if you're going against a major political opponent. And that's part of the calculation that will take place."

Jacobson talked about the ins and outs of the Democratic California senator's potential legal woes following the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency sending a letter to the DOJ this year claiming that Schiff falsified banking and property documents by listing two homes – on two separate coasts – as his primary residence out of an effort to allegedly get more favorable loans. 

The DOJ has not yet said whether it would take up the case, but is likely digging into Schiff's paper trail as it weighs whether to move forward, Jacobson explained.  

TRUMP ACCUSES 'SCAM ARTIST' SCHIFF OF LYING ABOUT MARYLAND HOME TO COMMIT MORTGAGE FRAUD

"I would expect that the first thing the Department of Justice is going to do is to gather documents. There will be a paper trail here. There will be many things that are documentable, and not ‘he said, she said,’ as to where Adam Schiff was actually living," he said. 

As investigators go through the documents, they will ask questions such as: What was his actual primary residence? What did he sign? Who was present when he signed? Did he have conversations with people about it?

The law professor, who founded the popular conservative legal blog Legal Insurrection, said that there will likely be a "significant paper trail" to go through due to the case stretching back more than 20 years and due to companies keeping tight records following the 2008 financial crash. 

"Mortgage companies preserve all of these things because of the financial crisis and other things. They have to maintain these records. . . . And I would expect that that would be the first thing the Department of Justice would look at is the paper trail and the circumstantial evidence as to where Adam Schiff was, in fact, living," he continued, remarking that there are "no shrinking violets" at the Trump DOJ. 

Schiff first fell under scrutiny this year in May, when the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice sounding the alarm that, in "multiple instances," Schiff allegedly "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property."

At the heart of the issue are two properties purchased by Schiff: a home purchased in 2003 in Potomac, Maryland, for $870,000 under a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage agreement for $610,000 at a rate of 5.625% over a term of 30 years, and a 2009 Burbank, Calif., condo. Schiff reaffirmed the Potomac property as his principal residence in mortgage refinancing paperwork in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013, according to the FHFA letter to the DOJ.

Over the same time frame, Schiff took a homeowner’s tax exemption on the Burbank condo while also claiming that home as his primary residence for a $7,000 reduction off of the 1% property tax, FHFA Director William Pulte wrote in the letter to the DOJ, citing media reports. 

In 2023, the letter continued, a spokesperson for Schiff asserted that "Adam’s primary residence is Burbank, California, and will remain so when he wins the Senate seat."

FHFA is an independent federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. 

TRUMP INVOKES RUSSIA COLLUSION HOAX WHILE CALLING FOR LONGTIME FOE SCHIFF TO FACE JAIL TIME

In 2020, Schiff refinanced his mortgage, listing his Maryland home as his secondary residence.

Trump publicly slammed Schiff over his mortgages in July on Truth Social, accusing him of fraud and putting the issue back on the public's radar following 2023 news reports on Schiff's homes in Maryland and California. 

"I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist," Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday. "And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud." 

"Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook. The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020."

FOX NEWS POLITICS NEWSLETTER: SCHIFF FLAGGED FOR POTENTIAL MORTGAGE FRAUD BY TRUMP OFFICIAL 

Schiff has repeatedly denied and brushed off the accusations, including refusing to answer questions from Fox News Digital about his alleged mortgage fraud when confronted in the nation's capital on July 16. 

"Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason. So in a way, I guess this is a bit of a letdown. And this baseless attempt at political retribution won’t stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot," he posted to X in July following Trump's initial Truth Social attack on Schiff's mortgages. 

"This is just Donald Trump’s latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies. So it is not a surprise, only how weak this false allegation turns out to be. And much as Trump may hope, this smear will not distract from his Epstein files problem," he added. 

Schiff's primary residence discrepancies first hit the public's radar in 2023, when Schiff launched an ultimately successful campaign to serve in the Senate after decades in the U.S. House. CNN published the first news article detailing that Schiff had claimed the Maryland home as a primary residence while also taking a homeowner’s tax exemption on the Burbank condo.

The campaign said at the time that Schiff's two properties were listed as primary residences "for loan purposes because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property."

Trump and Schiff have long been political foes, which was underscored during Trump's first administration when Schiff served as the lead House manager during the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020, and when Schiff repeatedly promoted claims that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia

WATCH: ADAM SCHIFF SILENT AFTER TRUMP ACCUSED HIM OF MORTGAGE FRAUD

Days after Trump first posted about Schiff's mortgages in Maryland and California, the president's Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, declassified documents that reportedly show "overwhelming evidence" that then-President Barack Obama and his national security team laid the groundwork for what would be the yearslong Trump–Russia collusion probe after Trump's election win against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

Schiff was an incredibly vocal lawmaker amid the Russian collusion claims, most notably when the House censured him in 2023 over his promotion that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Schiff served in the House representing California from 2001 to 2024, when he was sworn-in as a senator after his successful 2024 campaign to serve in the nation's upper chamber.

Schiff served as the ranking member of the House intelligence committee from 2015 to 2019, before becoming the committee's chair from 2019 to 2023. In that role, he was kept up to date on classified materials surrounding the Russian collusion claims. 

Trump also recently invoked Gabbard's alleged revelations while attacking Schiff over his mortgages in another Truth Social post.

FEDERAL HOUSING OFFICIAL SUBMITTED SCHIFF CRIMINAL REFERRAL TO DOJ OVER MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS

Trump went on to ominously warn during a White House event last week that Schiff has "a lot of other things far worse than" his mortgage inquiry. 

"He defrauded banks and insurance companies and the federal government, but it's, very simple. It's mortgage loan fraud ... But he has a lot of other things far worse than that. So no Adam Schiff, they have him 100% on mortgage fraud," Trump said last Tuesday from the White House while hosting a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Jacobson said that Democrats have boxed themselves out of attempting to claim that Trump is targeting a political foe over the mortgage criminal referral because the party had spent the last decade launching "lawfare" at Trump. 

"One of the ironies here that I think everybody understands, is that Democrats launched a lawfare campaign against Donald Trump. And it didn't just start once he took office this year. It's been going on for a decade," he said. 

"They have used every tool available to try to destroy him, including through criminal prosecutions, including through federal investigations. . . .  They've really tried to get him. And for them now to say, 'oh, just because we did that to you for 10 years doesn't give you the right to do it to us.' Legally, that's sound. I mean, you have to prove your case in court. But politically, I don't think that's going to fly. Democrats screaming that Donald Trump is weaponizing prosecutors against them is not going to really impress a lot of people."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Jacobson speculated that there will likely be more woes for Schiff in the coming days, but that potential legal cases hinge on prosecutors. 

"We don't know where this is going ahead, of course, but it does appear that Adam Schiff is in the sights of Donald Trump. No surprise about that, because Donald Trump has been in the sights of Adam Schiff for a decade. So, I fully expect that there will be more here. The question is going to be really though, once it moves into the realm of prosecution, what are the prosecutors going to do?" 

The Department of Justice declined comment when approached about potentially investigating and taking up the Schiff case. Schiff's office did not respond to Fox Digital's request for comment.

Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace and Peter Doocy contributed to this report. 

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

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. 

Obama admin ‘manufactured’ intelligence to create 2016 Russian election interference narrative, documents show

EXCLUSIVE: The Obama administration "manufactured and politicized intelligence" to create the narrative that Russia was attempting to influence the 2016 presidential election, despite information from the intelligence community stating otherwise, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Friday declassified documents revealing "overwhelming evidence" that demonstrates how, after President Donald Trump won the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, then-President Barack Obama and his national security team laid the groundwork for what would be the yearslong Trump–Russia collusion probe.

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

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 US 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."

EX-OBAMA INTEL BOSS WANTED ANTI-TRUMP DOSSIER INCLUDED IN 'ATYPICAL' 2016 ASSESSMENT DESPITE PUSHBACK

"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 on 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. 

The communications revealed that the brief was expected to be published Dec. 9, 2016, the following day, but later communications revealed that 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 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.)"

WHITE HOUSE WANTS OBAMA INTEL OFFICIALS 'HELD ACCOUNTABLE' FOR ROLE PEDDLING 2016 RUSSIA HOAX

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.

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

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence officials told Fox News Digital Friday that they have been investigating the matter for months.

Officials told Fox News Digital that the new assessment "was based on information that was known by those involved to be manufactured i.e. the Steele Dossier or deemed as not credible."

Officials said that 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."

Gabbard told Fox News Digital that this "is not a partisan issue," but one that "concerns every American."

COMEY SAYS MCCABE LIED, CONFIRMS HE KICK-STARTED PROBE THAT LED TO HIS FIRING

"The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government," Gabbard told Fox News Digital. "Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp the President from fulfilling the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people."

Gabbard said the "egregious abuse of power and blatant rejection of our Constitution" by Obama-era officials "threatens the very foundation and integrity of our democratic republic."

"No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again," Gabbard said. "The American people’s faith and trust in our democratic republic and therefore the future of our nation depends on it."

Gabbard added: "As such, I am providing all documents to the Department of Justice to deliver the accountability that President Trump, his family, and the American people deserve."

Fox News Digital reached out to Obama, Clapper, Comey, Brennan, Rice, Lynch and McCabe for comment and did not receive a response. 

The declassification of records and release by Gabbard and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence comes after Fox News Digital exclusively reported that former CIA Director Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for activities related to the original Trump-Russia probe.

The criminal referral for Brennan came from CIA Director John Ratcliffe, after he declassified records revealing that Brennan did, in fact, push for the discredited anti-Trump dossier to be included in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, despite the CIA’s consensus that it was filled with "internet rumor."

That dossier ultimately served as the basis for the Trump-Russia probe inside the FBI and for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

Ratcliffe sent the criminal referral for Brennan to FBI Director Kash Patel, who then opened a criminal investigation into Brennan and into Comey.

Reacting to the news of the investigation, Trump said he thinks "they’re very dishonest people."

"I think they're crooked as hell," Trump said. "And, maybe they have to pay a price for that."

Trump added: "I believe they are truly bad people and dishonest people. So whatever happens, happens." 

Democracy 2020 Digest: Trump, Democratic presidential candidates, campaign off impeachment acquittal

Both President Trump and the 2020 Democrats campaign off the Senate's vote to acquit the president of the House impeachment charges