President Donald Trump has recently explained why he accuses former President Barack Obama of treason. The 63-year-old Democrat responded to the 79-year-old President’s claims that Obama is ‘guilty’ of a criminal act related to the 2016 election, where Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
In a statement, Obama’s office dismissed the accusations as ‘bizarre’ and ‘ridiculous’, though Trump maintains that the previous administration was corrupt. “After what they did to me, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people. Obama has been caught directly,” Trump stated to reporters at the Oval Office, referencing his criminal conviction and comments by National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.
On Friday, Gabbard suggested she might refer Obama and his top officials to the Justice Department for prosecution, following an inquiry into whether they manipulated intelligence to imply Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Obama administration had alleged Russian interference, though they clarified it did not alter the election result.
Trump reiterated: “If you look at those papers, they have them stone cold, and it was President Obama… the leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him?” He referenced documents from Gabbard’s investigation.
Trump added: “It’s criminal at the highest level. It would be President Obama, he started it. And [Joe] Biden was there with him, and [then-FBI director James] Comey was there, and [then-director of National Intelligence James] Clapper — the whole group was there, and [then-CIA director John] Brennan.” He concluded: “He’s guilty … This was treason, this was every word you could think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election.”
Obama’s spokesperson, Patrick Rodenbush, responded to these allegations. “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” Rodenbush remarked. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.”
Rodenbush further stated: “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” He also referenced a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report in 2020 that found Russia had indeed attempted to influence the 2016 election in Trump’s favor, utilizing Republican political operative Paul Manafort and the WikiLeaks platform.
“Nothing in the document issued last week (by Gabbard) undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,” Rodenbush added. This follows the Trump administration’s contentious handling of the Epstein files, which has led to some MAGA supporters distancing themselves from the movement.