Donald Trump accuses Barack Obama of ‘treason’ over 2016 election claims

United States President Donald Trump has called for the apprehension of erstwhile President Barack Obama, repeating unproven claims that the Democrat’s medication intentionally misled the nationalist successful its appraisal of the 2016 election.

At Tuesday’s Oval Office gathering with Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, Trump accused Obama, a longtime rival, of helming a transgression conspiracy.

“ The person of the pack was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama,” Trump told the media.

“ He’s guilty. This was treason. This was each connection you tin deliberation of. They tried to bargain the election. They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever adjacent imagined, adjacent successful different countries.”

President Trump has a past of spreading election-related falsehoods, including by denying his ain decision successful the 2020 race.

But since taking bureau for a 2nd term, helium has sought to settee scores implicit his triumph successful the 2016 statesmanlike contest, which raised questions astir Russia’s alleged attempts to power the outcome.

In 2016, successful the waning days of Obama’s 2nd term, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) concluded that Russia had attempted to sway the results successful Trump’s favour. Obama responded to the allegations by expelling Russian diplomats and slapping sanctions connected the country.

An quality assemblage appraisal successful 2017 aboriginal offered details into the Russian power campaign.

But successful 2019, a peculiar counsel’s study recovered determination was not capable grounds to enactment the assertion that the Trump run had colluded with Russia. It did, however, erstwhile again underscore the government’s assertion that Russia had interfered successful the predetermination “in sweeping and systematic fashion”.

Trump, however, has described specified probes arsenic politicised attacks designed to undermine his authority.

In Tuesday’s appearance, Trump cited caller claims from his manager of nationalist intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, to asseverate wrongdoing connected the portion of the Obama administration.

“They caught President Obama perfectly cold,” Trump said. “They tried to rig the election, and they got caught, and determination should beryllium precise terrible consequences for that.”

Tulsi Gabbard renews Obama attacks

Trump’s latest remarks astir what helium calls the “Russia hoax” travel conscionable days aft Gabbard released a press release astir the taxable connected July 18.

In the statement, Gabbard’s bureau asserts she “revealed overwhelming evidence” that “President Obama and his nationalist information furniture members manufactured and politicised quality to laic the groundwork for what was fundamentally a years-long coup against President Trump”.

Gabbard followed that merchandise up with a bid of social media posts, immoderate indicating she had pressed the Department of Justice (DOJ) for transgression charges against Obama. She has called the scrutiny connected the 2016 predetermination a “treasonous conspiracy”.

“Their extremity was to usurp President Trump and subvert the volition of the American people,” Gabbard wrote.

“No substance however powerful, each idiosyncratic progressive successful this conspiracy indispensable beryllium investigated and prosecuted to the fullest grade of the law,” she continued. “We are turning implicit each documents to the DOJ for transgression referral.”

However, the veracity of Gabbard’s study has been wide questioned. Critics person pointed retired that she appears to confuse antithetic conclusions.

Gabbard, for instance, has highlighted interior authorities documents from the 2016 predetermination play that bespeak Russia was not utilizing cyberattacks to change the wide ballot count.

But the published 2017 quality study did not asseverate that Russia was attempting to hack the election. Instead, it highlighted ways that Russia tried to power nationalist sentiment done disinformation.

Russia’s run included online propaganda, the dissemination of hacked data, and targeted messaging astir individuals and entities progressive successful the election.

Other investigations related to the matter, including a abstracted Department of Justice inspector wide study and a Republican-led Senate investigation, each supported that Russia did so question to power the 2016 election.

Backlash against Gabbard’s statements

But Gabbard’s statement that the scrutiny implicit the 2016 predetermination was transgression has prompted uproar, peculiarly from the Democratic Party.

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia adjacent questioned whether Gabbard should stay successful her relation arsenic manager of nationalist intelligence.

“It is sadly not astonishing that DNI Gabbard, who promised to depoliticize the quality community, is erstwhile again weaponizing her presumption to amplify the president’s predetermination conspiracy theories,” helium wrote connected societal media.

Obama himself released a connection done his office, calling Gabbard’s claims “bizarre”.

“Nothing successful the papers issued past week undercuts the wide accepted decision that Russia worked to power the 2016 statesmanlike predetermination but did not successfully manipulate immoderate votes,” it said.

Some critics person speculated that Trump whitethorn beryllium utilizing the years-old question of Russian predetermination interference to distract from his existent governmental woes: He precocious faced backlash from members of his basal implicit his handling of files related to convicted enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Still, President Trump has doubled down connected Gabbard’s assertions, adjacent reposting a video generated by artificial quality (AI) connected Monday showing Obama being handcuffed successful the Oval Office, portion the opus YMCA played.

“ This is, like, impervious – irrefutable impervious – that Obama was seditious, that Obama was trying to pb a coup,” Trump said connected Tuesday. “Obama headed it up.”

Experts person agelong speculated that Trump whitethorn usage a 2nd word arsenic president to settee governmental scores and question retaliation against his foes.