Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., sparred with NBC’s Meet the Press anchor Kristen Welker on Sunday over bombshell claims from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, which allege that former President Barack Obama directed U.S. intelligence agencies to skew assessments in the final days of his presidency to falsely implicate Donald Trump in the Trump–Russia collusion narrative.
Welker pressed Graham on whether his focus on the Gabbard revelations was an attempt to divert attention from the Epstein investigation, prompting an angry response.
“You’re trying to sweep this stuff under the rug — and that’s not right!” Graham shot back.
The heated exchange stemmed from Gabbard’s recent release of declassified documents and a 2020 House Intelligence Committee report. Gabbard claims the documents reveal that U.S. intelligence agencies originally assessed that Russia was not attempting to help elect Trump, and that President Obama gave “unusual directives” to alter that conclusion. According to Gabbard, the agencies actually believed Russian President Vladimir Putin expected Hillary Clinton to win — and saw no strategic benefit in aiding Trump.
“This is a treasonous conspiracy,” Gabbard said on Fox & Friends, accusing political figures, media outlets, and intelligence officials of actively suppressing the truth.
President Trump echoed Gabbard’s claims last week, demanding “very severe consequences” for Obama and those allegedly involved. Obama, through a spokesperson, forcefully denied the accusations, calling them “bizarre” and “a weak attempt at distraction.”
“Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,” Obama’s office said, noting that the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee affirmed those findings in 2020.
During the interview, Welker cited former CIA officer Susan Miller, a Republican, who dismissed Gabbard’s claims, and pointed to Special Counsel John Durham’s 2023 conclusion that there was no political interference in the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. She also played a 2017 clip of Graham stating that “Russia interfered in the election to embarrass Hillary Clinton.”
Graham pushed back, saying that Gabbard’s newly declassified material revealed details not previously known, and reiterated his call for a special counsel to investigate whether Obama directed intelligence officials to alter their conclusions for political reasons.
“Well, what I am saying is that you left a lot out here,” Graham said. “The Mueller investigation was crooked and rotten to the core. The Washington Post and New York Times got Pulitzers for reporting Trump-Russia collusion — it was all B.S.”
While Graham clarified that he is not accusing Obama of treason, he insisted the allegations were serious enough to merit a formal investigation.
“For years, people’s lives were turned upside down chasing the narrative that Trump was colluding with Russia,” he said. “And now that we’re finally seeing what really happened, you want to bury it. That’s not right.”
