A former CIA officer directly involved in the U.S. investigation into Russian election interference is pushing back hard against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s explosive accusation that the Obama administration fabricated intelligence to frame Donald Trump.
Susan Miller, a decorated CIA veteran who helped assemble the 2019 Mueller report, didn’t mince words:
“The Director of National Intelligence and the White House are lying again,” she told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “We definitely had the intel to show—with high probability—that Russia’s specific goal was to get Trump elected.”
Miller, who served nine tours overseas before becoming the CIA’s chief of counterintelligence, was part of the elite intelligence team tapped to review data on Russian interference in the 2016 election. She insists the team was never influenced politically.
Asked whether the White House or CIA pressured her to reach any specific conclusion in the investigation, Miller said:
“Absolutely not. And I can guarantee, the other three members of my team would’ve resigned if that ever happened. They are righteous people.”
Gabbard Doubles Down on Treason Allegations
Gabbard, who now leads the U.S. intelligence community as DNI under President Trump’s second administration, has accused former President Barack Obama and his top officials of orchestrating a “treasonous conspiracy” by manipulating intelligence to make it seem that Russia favored Trump. In a report released July 18, Gabbard labeled the Obama-era investigation a “Russia hoax,” claiming the intelligence community weaponized false data to derail Trump’s presidency.
As the report struggled to gain traction even among conservative circles, Gabbard followed up with a barrage of social media posts, including infographics claiming to show the Obama administration’s alleged deception. She has since called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch criminal investigations into Obama, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former FBI Director James Comey.
At a recent White House briefing, Gabbard chastised reporters who questioned her claims, accusing them of doing a “disservice” to the country by “covering up the truth.”
“They Want Loyalty, Not Intelligence”
But for former CIA officers like Miller, Gabbard’s push isn’t just factually wrong—it’s dangerous.
“What Tulsi is saying is basically this: if the intelligence doesn’t support the MAGA narrative, you’ll be branded a traitor,” Miller said. “We reviewed every shred of data, and now they’re telling us we somehow got it all wrong—because it doesn’t fit their storyline.”
Miller emphasized that the core conclusion of the 2019 Mueller report—and a 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report led by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio—was clear: Russia carried out an aggressive, multi-pronged campaign to interfere in the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump. The intelligence community never claimed Russia altered votes, but that it sought to influence public opinion and damage Hillary Clinton.
“We couldn’t assess how effective the interference was,” Miller admitted. “You’d have to poll every voter to know that. But what we could say—100 percent—was that Russia was actively working to influence the election for Trump. And we wrote the paper saying just that.”
Political Fallout and Trump’s Endorsement
Former President Obama’s spokesperson dismissed Gabbard’s claims last week as “a weak attempt at distraction” from the renewed controversy surrounding the Epstein investigation. But Gabbard has found an enthusiastic backer in President Trump, who amplified her report and a lengthy Fox News segment supporting it on Truth Social.
As Trump’s administration faces growing questions over the lack of Epstein accountability, critics say Gabbard’s intelligence crusade is a calculated deflection. But Gabbard insists she’s exposing a deep-state betrayal.
Miller, however, remains unmoved.
“This isn’t about politics—it’s about truth. And Tulsi Gabbard is pushing a lie that threatens the integrity of the entire intelligence community.”