Former U.S. President Barack Obama’s office has issued a rare and scathing rebuke of Donald Trump after the current president accused his predecessor of “treason” and claimed he rigged both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
“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,” said Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
Trump, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, pivoted from a question about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to levelling sweeping accusations against Obama, declaring: “Obama’s been caught directly… This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election.”
He added, “After what they did to me, and whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people.”
Trump cited recent statements made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who alleged that officials in the Obama administration had manipulated intelligence to undermine Trump’s 2016 victory. Gabbard, in a post last week, announced she was making a criminal referral to the Justice Department, accusing former officials of deliberate obstruction.
At a separate event with Republican members of Congress, Trump again praised Gabbard and doubled down on his allegations, calling Obama and others “vicious, horrible people.”
Rodenbush countered those claims by pointing to longstanding findings that have withstood bipartisan scrutiny. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,” he said, referencing a 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report led by Republican Chairman Marco Rubio.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle responded by saying the administration “is appreciative of Director Gabbard’s commitment to transparency and effort to end the weaponisation of government against American citizens.”
Gabbard argued the intelligence community had withheld an assessment from December 2016 that concluded Russia did not impact the election through cyberattacks, a document she claims was abruptly pulled. However, Obama himself, during a press briefing shortly after the 2016 election, clarified that while Russia did interfere, there was no evidence of tampering with vote counts.
Obama maintains influence of Russia’s aim
The Obama administration maintained that Russia’s aim was to influence the election through hacked document leaks and a sophisticated disinformation campaign, claims later substantiated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and the bipartisan Senate report.
A separate investigation, led by Special Counsel John Durham and championed by Trump’s allies, was sharply critical of the FBI’s early handling of the Russia probe but did not uncover any criminal conspiracy within the Obama administration.
“The Committee’s bipartisan report found that Russia’s goal in its unprecedented hack-and-leak operation… was to assist the Trump Campaign. Candidate Trump and his Campaign responded to that threat by embracing, encouraging, and exploiting the Russian effort,” the Senate report concluded.
Democratic lawmakers have slammed the renewed accusations as a political distraction.
“This is just another example of the DNI trying to cook the books, rewrite history, and erode trust in the intelligence agencies she’s supposed to be leading,” said Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar added, “It’s all a distraction… they’ll release anything if it buys them another day or two not talking about Epstein.”
Trump, facing pressure from within his MAGA base over the administration’s handling of the Epstein case, has reignited several old grievances on social media. On Truth Social, he accused long-time foe Senator Adam Schiff of criminal behaviour and posted AI-generated mugshots of prominent Democrats.
Amidst the political furore, the Justice Department on Monday released thousands of files related to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and issued a redacted report concerning the FBI’s handling of Hillary Clinton’s private email server during her time as Secretary of State.
But despite Trump’s ongoing efforts to reframe past investigations, legal experts and bipartisan findings remain consistent: interference did occur, but not the way he claims.
