Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents Monday that she says show the intelligence community, along with certain Democrat congresscritters — think California Sen. Adam Schiff (a representative at the time) and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (CA ‑11) — used to justify the ludicrous 2019 impeachment effort of Donald Trump.
Democrats incredibly tried to take down a sitting president over a phone call because they alleged that Trump had requested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky look into Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, who had been conducting suspicious business activity in the Eastern European country. They further charged that Trump used presidential power to unlawfully pressure the Ukrainians.
Gabbard says the new documents show that the case was manufactured:
Newly-declassified records expose how deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that Congress used to usurp the will of the American people and impeach duly-elected President @realDonaldTrump in 2019.
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) April 13, 2026
Today, we reveal the truth 👇… pic.twitter.com/oLXW5nqi2n
In her tweet, she points readers to a lengthy press release on the official ODNI webpage that goes into more detail on the efforts to convict a duly-elected president, and she pointed the finger directly at former Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (ICIG) Michael Atkinson, who Trump fired in 2020:
During his preliminary investigation into President Trump’s July 2019 phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, former IC IG Michael Atkinson did not follow standard IG procedures and relied upon politicized, manufactured narratives – only conducting interviews with four individuals: the Whistleblower, the Whistleblower’s friend who was a co-author of the January 2017 Russia Hoax Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) and close colleague of disgraced former FBI Agent Peter Strzok, and two character references who had zero firsthand knowledge of the July 2019 phone call.
Ah, yes, Peter Strzok, the slippery former FBI agent who was a foaming-at-the-mouth Trump Hater. Gabbard had more:
Despite a lack of any firsthand evidence, IC IG Atkinson proceeded to take actions to weaponize the Whistleblower process and exceed his statutory jurisdiction by ignoring Department of Justice guidance and relying on only second-hand testimony to ensure the whistleblower complaint was released to Congress, referred to the FBI, and leaked to the propaganda media.
Then-House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) Chairman Adam Schiff and then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi used this false, second-hand narrative to create media intrigue and ultimately spark the basis to impeach President Trump in December of 2019.
NEW RECORDS VIA @DNIGabbard @RepRickCrawford ATKINSON TRANSCRIPTS
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) April 13, 2026
- First Trump Impeachment + Whistleblower Motive
Whistleblower met with Democrats on House Intelligence Committee (then led by Adam Schiff) BEFORE reporting his allegations to the Intelligence Community… pic.twitter.com/x7A1IxHLLO
Whistleblower met with Democrats on House Intelligence Committee (then led by Adam Schiff) BEFORE reporting his allegations to the Intelligence Community Inspector General.
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Gabbard provides numerous details regarding Atkinson’s shenanigans, but her summary tells you the takeaway: these folks didn’t care about the rule of law, or the Constitution, or integrity; all they wanted to do was get Orange Man Bad at any cost. Emphasis hers:
“Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people and impeach the duly-elected President of the United States,” said DNI Gabbard. “Inspector General Atkinson failed to uphold his responsibility to the American people, putting political motivations over the truth. And this, along with the politicization of the whistleblower process by a former CIA employee who was working hand in glove with Democrats in Congress, are egregious examples of the deep state playbook on how to weaponize the Intelligence Community. Exposing these tactics and showing how they undermine the fabric of our democratic republic furthers the critical cause of transparency and accountability and will help prevent future abuse of power.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe has already weighed in, saying Monday that the whole thing was a hoax:
"As Director Ratcliffe made clear as a member of President Trump's impeachment advisory team in 2019, this impeachment was entirely baseless, unfounded, and brought in politically-motivated bad faith," CIA Director of Public of Affairs Liz Lyons said in a statement to Just the News.
It may seem like old news at this point, but the 2019 impeachment remains a stain on our nation. If voters inexplicably give Congress back to the Democrats in the midterms, and/or the presidency in 2028, we’re likely to just see a whole lot more of this criminality.
Editor’s Note: The endless lawfare against Donald Trump was emblematic of the banana republic Biden regime.
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