Former CIA official refutes Gabbard's statements about Russia's election interference

Former CIA official refutes Gabbard's statements about Russia's election interference

Former CIA official Susan Miller, who worked on the agency's 2017 intelligence report on Russian election interference, has said she is against possible criminal charges the Trump administration to proceed.

Tulsi Gabbard's allegations

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has accused the Obama administration of manipulating the intelligence report. This report found that Russia attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election to support Donald Trump. Gabbard announced that she has forwarded criminal tips to the Justice Department.

Fighting spirit and determination

"My team and I were having a few drinks just yesterday and talking about what lawyers we would get if this happened," Miller said in an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on "The Source" on Friday. "But I will fight until the end," she added.

Resisting Gabbard's accusations

In her response to Gabbard's allegations, Miller explained that no one, including then-President Barack Obama or then-CIA Director John Brennan, told her team what conclusion they should reach in their report. “Absolutely not,” she stressed, adding that she and her team would have quit if they had faced such pressure.

Well-founded insights

Miller said the information leading to her conclusion was “extremely sound and verified.” She also noted that her team was also briefing Trump at the time.

Steele dossier and its credibility

She emphasized that the report's findings were "not at all" based on the so-called Steele dossier, which was included as an appendix. This controversial dossier was written by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and financed by Hillary Clinton's campaign. It alleged collaboration between the Russian government and people from Trump's campaign, although the dossier's ultimate credibility was limited.

Uncertainty about the success of the intervention

Although Miller's team was able to "100% determine" that Russia had attempted to influence the 2016 election, it is unclear whether Moscow's efforts were actually successful. "But the bottom line is, yes, they tried to influence. No, it's not possible to say whether that worked unless we ask every voter why they voted. And so, in our view, Trump is our president," she told CNN.

White House reaction

In a statement, the White House praised Gabbard and called the 2017 intelligence report and its findings a "total fraud and political witch trial designed to undermine President Trump's historic first term."

Warning about Gabbard's attacks

“I think this is wrong in every way,” Miller told CNN, warning against Gabbard’s attacks on the report and its findings. "What Tulsi is saying is, 'We just want to hear everything that's pro-Trump and pro-Trump politics... pro-current Republican Party coming from our intelligence community, and if we hear anything that doesn't agree with that, we'll take action against you.' And that's exactly how it feels. And what analyst wants to put his name on any paper these days?"

Truth-telling and analytical integrity

Miller assured that she and her team told the truth and provided well-researched information. "We looked at everything and now we're being told that we somehow got it wrong, that we didn't have analysts involved, even though three members of my team were analysts. We had rigid analytical reviews by our head of analysis at the time. That just doesn't make sense to me. It's really sad," she concluded.

CNN's Alejandra Jaramillo and Jeremy Herb also contributed to this report.