U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal prosecutors to convene a grand jury to investigate allegations that officials from former President Barack Obama’s administration manipulated intelligence assessments related to Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The investigation stems from claims raised by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who recently declassified documents she says suggest a politically motivated effort by senior intelligence officials to discredit then-candidate Donald Trump. Gabbard has described the alleged actions as a “treasonous conspiracy,” while Democrats have dismissed her assertions as unfounded and partisan in nature.

The Department of Justice last month created a strike force to examine these claims, and Bondi has now escalated the matter by instructing a federal prosecutor — whose identity has not been made public — to begin presenting evidence to a grand jury. Should the panel find probable cause, it could recommend criminal charges against individuals involved.

Former President Trump welcomed the news in a post on Truth Social, stating: “The TRUTH always wins out. This is great news.”

The move has reignited partisan battles over the origins of the Russia probe, which dogged Trump’s presidency and resulted in the Mueller investigation. Trump and his allies have long claimed the Russia inquiry was a politically motivated attempt to undermine his 2016 campaign. Last month, Trump accused President Obama directly of “treason” — an allegation he has not supported with evidence. A spokesperson for Obama called the charge “bizarre and baseless.”

Fox News was the first to report on Bondi’s directive. The Department of Justice has so far declined to comment.

The broader controversy dates back to a 2017 intelligence community assessment which concluded that Russian operatives interfered in the 2016 election to harm Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and help Trump. While the report cited Russian-backed cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and influence operations, it found no evidence that actual vote tallies were changed.

The grand jury probe could mark a major escalation in Republican efforts to challenge the legitimacy of the Russia investigation and scrutinize the conduct of top Obama-era intelligence officials.