A bombshell report alleges that high-ranking Obama-era officials pressured a senior intelligence analyst to fall in line with a controversial 2017 assessment on Russian election interference—despite the analyst’s refusal to sign off without reviewing the underlying evidence himself. The revelations were uncovered through whistleblower notes reviewed by The Federalist and reported by The Daily Caller on Thursday.

According to the notes, an associate of then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the analyst he needed to “trust me on this” and “outgrow” his concerns if he wanted a promotion. The conversation centered on the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), which was used to justify the claim that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump. The analyst refused to endorse judgments he had not personally verified, setting off a quiet war behind the scenes.

“There is reporting you are not allowed to see,” the official reportedly told the whistleblower, insisting that if he did see it, he would agree. The analyst’s refusal led to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) withholding support from the final ICA, setting it apart from the CIA, NSA, and FBI, which all signed off.

The whistleblower’s resistance was apparently seen as insubordination. According to the notes, he was urged to act more like a “corporate IC officer” and get the DIA “on board.” The implication was clear: comply—or risk your career.

What makes this story even more disturbing is the timeline. The conversation reportedly took place in early January 2017, just as senior intelligence officials, including Clapper, were preparing to brief then-President Barack Obama on the Russia report. But the whistleblower didn’t document the conversation until March 2023—after years of being ignored by the intelligence community inspector general, John Durham’s office, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).

Despite the delay, the whistleblower says he remembers the conversation “very clearly.” He wrote that he was aware he was defying a superior’s directive to “misrepresent” his views, but chose to follow proper tradecraft and ethics.

The report adds to a growing pile of evidence that the infamous Russiagate investigation may have been driven more by politics than intelligence. This new whistleblower account echoes other claims, including those from former Trump aide Kash Patel, who recently discovered thousands of documents about the Russia probe stashed in “burn bags.”

So far, Sen. Warner’s office has declined to comment on the report.

What’s clear is that a senior intelligence analyst faced career threats for simply doing his job with integrity—and refusing to rubber-stamp an explosive conclusion without seeing the evidence. In an era where truth and accountability are supposedly bipartisan goals, this story raises troubling questions about what else was buried in the rush to sell Russiagate to the American people.