Congressional Black Caucus comes out swinging to defend Obama, demands Trump ODNI director Gabbard resign

In a letter, CBC members accuse National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard of “blatant misuse” of her role to “shield” Trump, who they describe as a “34-time convicted felon and adjudicated rapist from facing the truth.”

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus came out swinging in a letter to the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who, along with President Donald Trump, has accused, without evidence, President Barack Obama of committing treason. The group of nearly two dozen Black lawmakers are calling on Gabbard to “immediately” resign.

Gabbard’s office recently released declassified documents, claiming them as “overwhelming evidence” that Obama and his senior staff “manufactured and politicized” intelligence evidence against President Trump related to Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“This is not only categorically false; it is a dangerous and deliberate distortion of reality,” reads the letter, led by U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif. “As Director of National Intelligence, your job is to safeguard truth, not spread propaganda. Instead, you have abused your position to promote a partisan narrative rooted in conspiracy and discredited claims.”

Some of the letter’s signees include U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas; Yvette D. Clarke, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., who is controversially facing charges brought by the Trump administration.

Kamlager-Dove told theGrio it was important for the Congressional Black Caucus, as the “conscience of the Congress” to get in front of the very public attacks on Obama. The congresswoman condemned Gabbard and the Trump administration for their public campaign to “malign” America’s first Black president.

She told theGrio former President Obama had “far more integrity attached to his legacy than this current administration will ever know.”

Gabbard’s public release of Russia-related intelligence assessments involving former Obama officials has been heavily criticized by Democrats, who say the Trump administration is targeting Obama to distract from the political controversy that has faced President Donald Trump amid reports that he is mentioned in the FBI files related to convicted sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Despite Trump’s vow to release the full Epstein files, his administration announced in a DOJ memo that it would do no such thing. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have dismissed the calls for their release, arguing that much of its content involves explicit images and details about child sexual abuse.

However, calls for the Epstein files’ release have sustained–from Democrats and Republicans–amid reports that Trump was informed by Bondi that his name is mentioned in the documents. That fact has only fueled concerns about whether or not President Trump is hiding something.

The letter from the CBC accuses Gabbard of “blatant misuse” of her role as National Intelligence Director to “shield” Trump, who they describe as a “34-time convicted felon and adjudicated rapist.” They added, “[It’s] not only a moral failure, but a glaring betrayal of the very Constitution that you swore an oath to uphold.”

Trump’s latest attack on Obama is part of a years-long political feud. Trump’s political rise is tied to the racist “birther” conspiracy that Obama, the son of a white mother from Kansas and a Kenyan father, was not born in America and therefore not a U.S. citizen. Ironically, Trump is now aiming to end birthright citizenship in an attempt to mass deport immigrants.

Kamlager-Dove said she is not surprised by Trump taking aim at Obama, but said his call for Obama’s arrest over unproven claims is a “new low.” She explained, “I think it just goes back to the fact that he is deeply afraid of what’s in those [Epstein] files.”

The congresswoman said Trump is also “jealous” of Obama and “incredibly intimidated” by Black Americans, telling theGrio, “We are living rent free in his head every single day.”

The CBC letter calls out Gabbard for her “poor judgment,” noting that while it is not her first, her targeting of Obama is her “most egregious” offense.

“The Intelligence Community must be guided by objectivity, professionalism, and fidelity to the facts. You have demonstrated none of these. Instead, you have politicized your office, undermined public trust, and embarrassed the very institution you were entrusted to lead,” said the group of Black lawmakers.

Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesperson for Obama, condemned the Trump administration’s “bizarre allegations” as “ridiculous and 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,” he said.

Kamlager-Dove, whose letter highlights Trump’s criminal record, said amid the Epstein controversy and the “distraction” campaign against Obama, it’s “important that we remember who Donald Trump is.”

“He was found liable. He does have a history of toxic interactions with women, and the Epstein files is a story about women being assaulted, being abused, possibly even being trafficked, and that being allowed to happen, and in fact, that being condoned and protected by the rich and powerful,” she told theGrio.

She added, “There’s a direct link between that story and this administration and who this person is.”