Tensions exploded Thursday on Fox News’ “The Five” as a fiery debate broke out between panel members Kellyanne Conway, Jesse Watters and Jessica Tarlov over newly released declassified documents related to the 2016 Russia-Trump investigation.
The documents, released by Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, revisit the claims that then-presidential candidate Donald Trump colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
Gabbard announced the release earlier this week, including a 44-page report that evaluates prior intelligence assessments made during the final months of the Obama administration and early in Trump’s first term.
Gabbard’s release also included a memo alleging that the Obama-era intelligence community deliberately withheld a joint press release from the FBI and NSA.
That press release, issued just weeks before the 2016 election, expressed only “low confidence” in Russia’s involvement in high-profile data leaks that year.
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and the Department of Homeland Security were responsible for suppressing the release, according to the memo.
During a segment on “The Five,” co-host Jesse Watters raised the issue with Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov, asking whether she had read the full report released by Gabbard.
Tarlov admitted she had not read “all 200 pages.”
Watters quickly responded, “Well, it wasn’t 200 pages, it was 44. That’s why I read them, because it wasn’t 200 pages.”
Watters continued by summarizing the claims in the declassified report, which included allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted Trump to win, that he attempted to help Trump, possessed compromising material on him and colluded with the campaign.
“All of those things were erroneous, and they cooked the intelligence,” Watters stated.
Tarlov pushed back, asserting that Putin did, in fact, prefer Trump to win over Hillary Clinton.
Watters countered by repeating his claim that the declassified report contradicts the notion that Putin had a preference, stating, “That’s one of the main points in the report.”
Tarlov then declared, “The report is erroneous,” drawing sharp reactions from both Conway and Watters.
The exchange reignited scrutiny over the Steele dossier, the widely disputed document that served as a basis for many early allegations against Trump and his campaign.
Compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, the dossier became central to the FBI’s investigation and was later included in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment.
Gabbard’s memo additionally states that former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are now under criminal investigation for alleged misconduct related to their handling of intelligence during that time.
Brennan reportedly ignored a warning from the then-CIA deputy director about including the Steele dossier in the assessment, which was later used to brief both President Obama and President-elect Trump.
Conway exploded at Tarlov after the latter reiterated trust in the broader intelligence community and international consensus that Russia had interfered on Trump’s behalf.
“No, Jessica, I’m sick of it,” Conway said.
“We spent years, six figures worth of legal bills for low-level staffers.”
As Tarlov attempted to ask a follow-up question, she began, “You’re saying that Putin didn’t, that the intel, that our intel community and the rest of the world — ” but was cut off by Conway’s continued frustration.
The conversation shifted toward media accountability, with Conway criticizing news coverage that had promoted the collusion narrative.
“The media needs to own up to being part of this lie for years,” she said.
“Two thousand minutes — that is two days out of a human being’s life — just in coverage of this thing called Russian collusion, which wasn’t true.”
Tarlov responded by citing the 2019 Mueller report, which documented Russian interference efforts but did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump and Russia.
Conway dismissed the report, calling it “a joke,” while Watters shouted that it had pushed the notion of “interference” and “collusion” for years.
“I think that people who said there was collusion, which is a made-up term anyway, should rewrite — ” Tarlov began, before being interrupted again by Conway.
“No, no, no,” Conway said.
“I wasn’t talking to people in Moscow. I was talking to people in Macomb County, Michigan, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. That’s how he won.”
Conway then turned her attention back to the 2016 election results.
“He won because Hillary was a flawed candidate,” she said.
“And every time you guys have a sh*tty candidate, you do all these shenanigans to try to stop Trump. I’m sick of it.”
WATCH:
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Author: Jordyn M.
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