In a move poised to reignite debate over the politicization of intelligence during the 2016 election, Attorney General Pam Bondi has reportedly now launched a grand jury investigation into claims that the Obama administration used federal intelligence agencies to manufacture a narrative of collusion between President Trump and Russia.
According to Fox News, Bondi signed a one-page order on Monday directing a federal prosecutor—whose identity remains undisclosed—to present evidence to a grand jury.
The directive follows a criminal referral from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who warned that elements of the so-called “Russiagate” investigation may have been fabricated to undermine Trump’s presidency.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told Fox News that Bondi takes Gabbard’s referral “very seriously” and sees “clear cause for deep concern.”
Although the DOJ declined to offer further comment when contacted by The Daily Wire, the attorney general’s office has reportedly been reviewing relevant evidence through a specialized “strike force” formed earlier this year.
While it remains unclear which former officials may be implicated, both Gabbard and President Donald Trump have long criticized key Obama-era figures—including former President Barack Obama himself, former FBI Director James Comey, ex-CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper—for their roles in the now-discredited “Crossfire Hurricane” probe and the 2017 intelligence assessment that claimed Russia worked to benefit Trump.
“There’s no question in my mind that this intelligence community assessment that President Obama ordered be published, which contained a manufactured intelligence document—it’s worse than even politicization of intelligence,” Gabbard said during a recent appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “It was manufactured intelligence that sought to achieve President Obama and his team’s objective, which was undermining President Trump’s presidency and subverting the will of the American people.”
To date, no charges or indictments have been filed, and details surrounding the grand jury proceedings remain sealed, including the location and potential witnesses.
Still, the probe has sparked renewed scrutiny of records suggesting Hillary Clinton’s campaign approved efforts to tie Trump to Russia in 2016—efforts allegedly aimed at distracting from her own controversies, including the handling of classified emails.
While Obama has rejected accusations of misconduct, calling them “bizarre” and “a weak attempt at distraction,” revelations from former Special Counsel John Durham have added fuel to Republican concerns.
Durham’s findings indicated that the FBI, under Obama’s watch, “appeared to ignore” intelligence suggesting the Russia collusion allegations were driven by Clinton’s campaign and possibly influenced by Russian disinformation.
Top Obama-era officials have pushed back. Brennan and Clapper, writing in The New York Times, dismissed talk of a conspiracy, arguing that Durham found “no evidence of an Obama administration conspiracy against Mr. Trump.”
They emphasized that former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation did uncover Russian interference, even if it failed to establish criminal coordination between Moscow and Trump’s team.
Still, Bondi’s decision to open a grand jury probe marks a dramatic escalation in what critics of the Obama administration see as long-overdue accountability.
As the 2026 election cycle approaches, the investigation is expected to intensify the already sharp partisan divide over the origins and legacy of the Russia collusion narrative.
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