Attorney General Pam Bondi has reportedly ordered the launch of a grand jury investigation into allegations that former President Barack Obama and his administration fabricated intelligence to support a narrative of collusion between Donald Trump and Russia during the 2016 election.
According to Fox News, Bondi signed a one-page directive on Monday instructing an unnamed federal prosecutor to present evidence to a grand jury. A Department of Justice spokesperson told the outlet that Bondi is taking the criminal referral from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard “very seriously” and believes it presents a “clear cause for deep concern.”
A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Wire regarding the Fox News report. It was already known that Bondi had previously launched a “strike force” to review evidence related to the Obama administration’s role in promoting the Trump-Russia collusion narrative, following the public release of several key documents.
As of press time, it remains unclear who may be named in the criminal referral. However, both Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and now-President Donald Trump have been sharply critical of former President Obama, ex-FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Their criticism centers on the early 2017 intelligence assessment and the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“There’s no question in my mind that this intelligence community assessment that President Obama ordered be published, which contained a manufactured intelligence document — it’s worse than even politicization of intelligence,” Gabbard told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo in a “Sunday Morning Futures” interview that aired last month.
“It was manufactured intelligence that sought to achieve President Obama and his team’s objective, which was undermining President Trump’s presidency and subverting the will of the American people,” she added.
Fox noted that as of yet, no charges have been filed and that presenting evidence to a grand jury, which meets in secret, is just the opening phase. Charges could certainly come at a later date if the grand jury finds enough evidence to warrant them.
