The Latest: White House lashes out at Obama administration officials over Russia investigation

Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, is touting the release of a House report that she claims helps undercut the reality of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Gabbard made a surprise appearance at the White House press briefing just hours after she made public a declassified report from House Republicans that was produced during the first Trump administration. The report does not dispute the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the election, but alleges tradecraft failings in how intelligence officials reached the conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin intended to have Trump win.

The release of the report, which comes as Trump is facing backlash from elements of his base regarding the handling of records from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, is part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to rewrite the history of Russian election interference.

As Trump urges scrutiny of former commander in chief Barack Obama, it’s worth remembering a simple fact: Former presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts they take in office.

That’s thanks to a Supreme Court opinion issued last year that shielded Trump in a case charging him with conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The topic has resurfaced thanks to efforts by the Trump administration to rewrite the history of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Trump has suggested that investigators should look into Obama and other senior officials, though none of them have been accused of any wrongdoing and the Supreme Court ruling, in any event, would foreclose the possibility of a prosecution of Obama.

Gabbard said Obama did a “disservice to the American people” when his office attacked the government’s rehashed grievances over the Russia investigation that overshadowed President Donald Trump’s first term.

Obama’s postpresidential office issued a rare statement on Tuesday, condemning the Trump administration’s allegations as a “ridiculous and “a weak attempt at distraction.”

Asked about it at a Wednesday press briefing, Gabbard said Obama and others from his administration are “trying to deflect away from their culpability in what is a historic scandal.”

The director of national intelligence didn’t address a question about those who suggest she is making the report public in order to improve her standing with Trump after she seemed to fall from favor earlier this year when he dismissed her assessments about Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Instead, Leavitt opted to answer the question for Gabbard, who said the only people questioning Gabbard’s motives were news reporters “who constantly try to sow distrust and chaos among the president’s cabinet.”

Gabbard made a surprise appearance just hours after she made public a declassified report from House Republicans that was produced during the first presidential administration.

Gabbard lashed out during lengthy remarks at specific members of the Obama administration.

Leavitt brought Gabbard up to the podium as a surprise guest at the daily guest briefing.

The director of national intelligence was accompanied by her cinematographer husband, Abraham Williams, who was filming her appearance in the White House briefing room. Williams is a filmmaker and was often seen filming Gabbard during her 2020 presidential campaign.

The audit watchdog for Congress has found that the Trump administration earlier this year withheld funds for Head Start programs in violation of federal law.

The finding Wednesday underscores Democratic lawmakers’ concerns that the administration is canceling the funding of programs it does not view as a priority.

The Government Accountability Office said that the Department of Health and Human Services between Jan. 20 and April 15 significantly reduced the rate of disbursement for Head Start grants compared to the same period of the prior year. Based on that evidence, it concluded the department was in violation of the Impoundment Control Act.

The GAO also said current data suggests that Head Start funds have since been made available at rates consistent with those from the year before.

Democrats said the damage was done, however.

“It does not matter how long these funds were frozen,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “The chaos and uncertainty of illegally withholding these funds is costly and hurts the hundreds of thousands of families that depend on Head Start.”

AP