A newly declassified House Intelligence Committee report made public Wednesday reveals that U.S. intelligence officials under former President Barack Obama were aware in 2016 that Russian operatives had obtained internal Democratic National Committee (DNC) communications containing damaging allegations about Hillary Clinton’s mental and physical health.
However, that information was not disclosed to the public or included in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that concluded Russia sought to help Donald Trump win the presidency.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified the document, which was originally dated September 18, 2020.
The report states that Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accessed internal DNC communications that included claims Clinton was on a daily regimen of “heavy tranquilizers” and struggling with a combination of “intensified psycho-emotional problems.”
Russian intelligence assessments also cited Clinton as having chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and deep vein thrombosis.
According to the report, these assessments were known to U.S. intelligence officials at the time.
“The judgement that Putin developed a ‘clear preference for candidate Trump’ and ‘aspired to help his chances of victory’ did not adhere to the tenets of the ICD (Intelligence Community Directive) analytical standards,” the report stated.
Despite the severity of the Russian intelligence claims and their potential impact on Clinton’s electability, the information was never disclosed publicly or reflected in the 2017 ICA.
Instead, senior intelligence officials emphasized Russia’s role in leaking damaging but comparatively limited material from the Clinton campaign and the DNC.
The report notes that President Obama and senior Democratic officials found the Russian intelligence regarding Clinton’s health to be “extraordinarily alarming” but chose not to release or address it.
Russian operatives, according to the findings, never publicly released the information during the campaign.
The House Intelligence Committee’s analysis raises questions about the conclusion that Putin preferred Trump over Clinton.
“[I]t is difficult to justify” the Obama intelligence community’s “judgement that Putin ‘aspired’ to help Trump win by discrediting Secretary Clinton given that in the closing weeks of the campaign — when such devastating leaks could have been decisive — President Putin elected not to inject this material into the campaign,” the report said.
Additionally, the report references a DNC email intercepted by Russia that detailed a campaign plan approved by Clinton to link Trump to Russian hackers in an effort to “distract the public” from the fallout of the Clinton private email server scandal. That detail was also not included in the ICA.
The report, finalized under the leadership of former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), asserts that the Obama-era intelligence community selectively emphasized findings that supported a collusion narrative while ignoring evidence that complicated or contradicted it.
Clinton’s health was already the subject of public speculation during the 2016 campaign.
In September 2016, NBC News reported that Clinton nearly collapsed while leaving a 9/11 memorial event in New York City and was later diagnosed with pneumonia.
Her campaign initially withheld that information, prompting further scrutiny after video footage showed her being helped into a van by staff.
Clinton had previously been hospitalized in 2012 after suffering a concussion that led to the discovery of a blood clot in her brain.
Throughout the campaign, her team consistently dismissed health-related concerns as conspiracy theories, even as incidents continued to raise public questions.
The revelation that Russia possessed more extensive and damaging information about Clinton — and that it was known by U.S. intelligence officials who chose not to factor it into their public assessments — adds new context to the 2016 interference narrative.
Critics argue the omission undermines the claim that Russia was solely motivated by a desire to help Trump.
“If Russia was really all-in on supporting Trump and hurting Clinton, it would have leaked this information in October 2016 when her lead in the RCP average slipped to just +1.3,” Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, posted on X.
The report’s release is part of an ongoing review by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which has stated more disclosures are likely in the coming weeks as whistleblowers continue to bring forward new information.
