Did Obama White House Fake Russian Interference Intel? Grand Jury Probe Ordered

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered the Justice Department to investigate how the Trump-Russia probe began, after new documents were released that question the“legitimacy of the inquiry”, which had claimed that Russia interfered to help Trump in the 2016 election. The new investigation has been launched to determined whether the members of the Obama administration manufactured the reports of Russian interference in the election.

Pam Bondi has instructed a prosecutor to present evidence to a grand jury following referrals from the Trump administration's top intelligence official.

The decision comes after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard referred the case, citing declassified documents released in July that she claims challenge the Obama administration's findings that Russia aimed to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton. Also Read | Explosive report fuels Trump's call for Hillary Clinton to 'pay a big price' over Russia hoax

According to a CNN report, Tulsi Gabbard has requested the department to investigate former President Barack Obama and top officials in his administration for an alleged conspiracy.

On Truth Social, Donald Trump had recently declared the 24-page document proves the scandal is "TOTALLY UNDISPUTED" and "the biggest in American History," demanding perpetrators“pay a big price” . The annex, released by Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, details emails suggesting Hillary Clinton approved a strategy to“distract people from her own missing email” by amplifying Russia-Trump allegations.

What is not known? It was not clear which former officials might be the target of any grand jury activity, where the grand jury that might ultimately hear evidence will be located or which prosecutors – whether career employees or political appointees – might be involved in pursuing the investigation.

It was also not clear what precise claims of misconduct Trump administration officials believe could form the basis of criminal charges, which a grand jury would have to sign off on for an indictment to be issued.

The initial findings had led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who secured several convictions of Trump associates but found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Moscow . The investigation had shadowed much of Trump's first term in office.

A new outcry surfaced last week when Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a set of emails that FBI Director Kash Patel claimed on social media proved that the“Clinton campaign plotted to frame President Trump and fabricate the Russia collusion hoax.”

(With inputs from The Assosciated Press)

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