The American intel chief has removed 37 security clearances from current and former officials over the hoax

Russia did not favor Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 US presidential election and the administration of then-President Barack Obama was well aware of that, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has said.

Since mid-July, Gabbard has released multiple documents which allegedly expose a coordinated effort by senior Obama-era officials to falsely accuse Trump of colluding with Russia and delegitimize his first election win.

During an appearance on the Hannity program on Fox News on Tuesday, Gabbard insisted that "the intelligence community assessed in the months leading up to that 2016 election that, yes, Russia was trying to interfere in our election by sowing discord and chaos, but stating over and over again that Russia did not appear to have any preference for one candidate over the other."

At the time, Moscow viewed both Trump and Clinton "as equally bad for Russia's interest," she said.

"The big shift - that happened around what is now commonly known as 'Russiagate' - was after the election," Gabbard claimed.

In early December 2016, Obama called a meeting of his national security council leadership, telling then-DNI James Clapper and then-CIA Director John Brennan to come up with a new "politicized and weaponized fake intelligence" assessment, claiming that "Russia, [President Vladimir] Putin did try to interfere in the election because he wanted Trump to win," she alleged.

Russiagate was the "real crime" by Obama officials against the American people because it undermined their votes, Gabbard stressed.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gabbard announced that her office had stripped security clearances from 37 current and former US intelligence officials, including Clapper, for allegedly politicizing and manipulating intelligence.

Trump said earlier that all those behind the Russiagate hoax should pay a "big price" for what he labeled a deliberate attempt to sabotage his presidency.

Moscow has consistently denied any interference in the 2016 election, with Russian officials calling the US accusations a product of partisan infighting. The Russiagate scandal severely strained US-Russia relations, resulting in sanctions, asset seizures, and a breakdown in diplomatic engagement.

(RT.com)