On Thursday, CBS Mornings and NBC’s Today seethed over President Trump and his administration — led by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — have continued to drive home the stunning report that then-President Obama and his Deep State leadership worked in late 2016 and early 2017 to lay the predicate for the Trump-Russia collusion hoax that cost the country years of wasted time and ruined lives personally and professionally.
This, they declared, was leveled “without evidence” to “rewrite” history and “change the subject” from what the liberal media have settled on as their latest possible white whale to remove Donald Trump from office: the Epstein files.
NBC senior White House correspondent Garrett Haake was particularly disgusted, huffing “the White House is dismissing” the Epstein hullabaloo “as fake news and seemingly moving to change the subject by attacking former President Obama over his handling of the 2016 Russia election interference investigation.”
Haake then lied himself about the real truth of the Trump-Russia probe, throwing around the dreaded “without evidence” line (which is almost always a tell from the liberal media that they themselves don’t want to talk about something):
“Gabbard releasing an eight-year-old House Republican report that took issue with the intelligence community’s finding that Russia tried to help Trump win in 2016, a bipartisan Senate report released in 2020 under then-Intel Committee Chairman Marco Rubio ‘concluded Russia did interfere” to help boost Trump,’” he continued, falsely implying Russia helped rig/steal the 2016 election.
If there’s “no evidence,” then why was the lack of confidence in the particulars of Russia’s election meddling operation left out of a December 2016 Presidential Daily Brief and why was the Steele Dossier elevated inside and outside government if it was known to have scurrilous claims?
To drive home how committed the liberal media are to discrediting this act of accountability, Haake aired sound of CBS senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe’s back-and-forth with Gabbard at Wednesday’s White House press briefing.
Speaking of O’Keefe, he declared on CBS Mornings that President Trump “has urged fellow Republicans to help change the subject” and played sound of Trump suggesting the GOP turn any “not appropriate” question (i.e. Epstein-related) into pointing out “Obama cheated on the election.”
He then added:
This played into another portion of his Wednesday exchange with Gabbard in which the CBS correspondent asked if Gabbard “believe[s] President Obama is guilty of treason.”
Before returning to the Epstein nonsense, O’Keefe reupped the denials from Obamaworld:
Obama’s office called the accusations “ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” Russia’s meddling has long been investigated, including by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, which was co-chaired by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, unanimously finding Russia did engage in an aggressive effort to influence the 2016 election.
Notice that last phrase. “Russia did engage in an aggressive effort to influence the 2016 election.”
Turns out, the report Gabbard released agrees with that while arguing it wasn’t to help rig the election for Trump.
The liberal media don’t seem interested in making that distinction.
To see the relevant CBS and NBC transcripts from July 24, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
July 24, 2025
7:09 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Obama Administration Investigation; DOJ to Look into How Obama Admin. Investigated Election Interference]
ED O’KEEFE: At the White House, the President has urged fellow Republicans to help change the subject.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Every time they give you a question that’s not appropriate, just say, oh, by the way, Obama cheated on the election.
O’KEEFE: How the Obama administration investigated potential Russian interference in the 2016 elections is the subject of newly declassified documents released by National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, which she claims show former President Barack Obama directed the creation of a false intelligence assessment.
O’KEEFE [TO GABBARD]: Based on what you now see, do you believe President Obama is guilty of treason?
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE TULSI GABBARD: I’m leaving the criminal charges to the Department of Justice. [SCREEN WIPE] The expressed intent and what followed afterward can only be described as a years-long coup and a treasonous conspiracy.
O’KEEFE: Obama’s office called the accusations “ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” Russia’s meddling has long been investigated, including by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, which was co-chaired by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, unanimously finding Russia did engage in an aggressive effort to influence the 2016 election.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NBC’s Today
July 24, 2024
7:04 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump Facing New Epstein Scrutiny]
GARRETT HAAKE: Now, the White House is dismissing all of it as fake news and seemingly moving to change the subject by attacking former President Obama over his handling of the 2016 Russia election interference investigation.
(....)
7:06 a.m. Eastern
HAAKE: The White House trying to shift the focus away from Epstein.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Tulsi, thank you for being here.
HAAKE: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard attempting to rewrite the history of Russia’s 2016 election interference, accusing former President Obama without evidence of manipulating intelligence. Gabbard releasing an eight-year-old House Republican report that took issue with the intelligence community’s finding that Russia tried to help Trump win in 2016, a bipartisan Senate report released in 2020 under then-Intel Committee Chairman Marco Rubio “concluded Russia did interfere” to help boost Trump.
ED O’KEEFE [TO GABBARD]: So, help us from a 50,000-foot level explain, what do you now have that refutes those two conclusions?
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE TULSI GABBARD: Sure. [JUMP CUT, NO SCREEN WIPE] My job, again, as I said when I came into this role was to make sure that we are telling the truth to the American people.
