‘What everybody is missing’ about alleged Obama Russiagate plot

Daily Caller editorial director Vince Coglianese highlighted on his show “VINCE” Wednesday that a key intelligence briefing contradicting allegations of Russian election interference was scrapped after then-President-elect Donald Trump began receiving the President’s Daily Brief (PDB).

Former President Barack Obama’s administration withheld a Dec. 7, 2016, briefing draft from Trump, which included intel stating that “foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. Presidential election outcome” during the 2016 election, according to documents released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Coglianese alleged on his show that the Obama administration withheld the brief to prevent Trump from discussing it publicly.

WATCH:

“The Obama administration knew that Russia did not steal the election for Trump. Russia had no impact whatsoever on the election. And it’s pathetic to even claim that,” Coglianese said. “They were going to put that into the Presidential Daily Brief on December 9th of 2016. They didn’t. They scrapped the briefing. And instead, all of the Barack Obama officials got together and hatched a plan to try and salt the earth for the incoming Trump administration.”

“But here’s what everybody is missing about the December 9th aborted Presidential Daily Brief. Guess who that brief is written for … The Presidential Daily Brief on December 9th of 2016 was supposed to be delivered to two presidents: President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump,” he added. “That brief was never published. The brief that said that Russia didn’t steal the election and Trump didn’t collude with Russia. That Russia had no impact on votes whatsoever. It was never given to President Trump. The point of that December 9th, 2016, aborted Presidential Daily Brief was to avoid President Trump seeing it. It is simple as that.”

Coglianese argued if Trump had seen the brief, he would have been able to refute allegations about Russia helping him.

“What we know would have happened is obvious. If the left all of a sudden started coming out and going, ‘Oh, yeah, yeah, Russia stole the election. They did it for Trump,” he said. “And Trump colluded with them.’ The second they started saying that, President Trump could pick up the Presidential Daily Brief that he had been issued and say, ‘Guys, that never happened. You wrote it down that that never happened. Here’s the evidence for it.’ But they didn’t do that.”

Trump got his first PDB on Nov. 15, 2016, CNN reported.

The documents Gabbard released show that “Russian and criminal actors did not impact” the 2016 election using cyber-attacks on infrastructure.

The Dec. 7 draft was “kill[ed]” by a senior PDB official who cited “new guidance,” according to the documents.

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