In a rare statement, former President Barack Obama responded to President Donald Trump, who accused him of treason.
At 79 years old, the current POTUS has frequently utilized smear tactics against his political rivals and predecessors. For the most part, 63-year-old Obama has remained silent, dismissing the numerous allegations directed at him.
However, following Trump’s assertion that the Democrat is ‘guilty’ of attempting to undermine the 2016 election results—where Trump triumphed over Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton—the 44th President of the United States decided to retaliate.
Trump made these remarks during a press conference in the Oval Office yesterday (July 22).
“It’s there, he’s guilty. This was treason,” Trump stated regarding Obama. “They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever imagined, even in other countries.”
Trump accuses Obama of manipulating intelligence to imply that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, thereby undermining his victory.
While the Obama administration did assert that Russia attempted to interfere in that election, it clarified that such interference did not succeed in altering the outcome.
Once again, the New Yorker failed to present any evidence while referencing the Obama administration—this came just four days after National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard accused Obama of ‘treasonous conspiracy’ in relation to the investigation of Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election.
Russia has consistently denied any interference.
On Friday, Gabbard threatened to refer Obama’s senior officials to the Justice Department for prosecution regarding this issue.
Now, Obama’s spokesperson, Patrick Rodenbush, has issued a response on behalf of the former president to these ‘bizarre’ and ‘ridiculous’ allegations.
“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not typically dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation emanating from this White House with a response,” Rodenbush stated. “
He stated: “These absurd allegations are ludicrous and represent a feeble attempt at diversion.”
Rodenbush pointed out that a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report from 2020 revealed that Russia indeed attempted to influence the 2016 election in favor of Trump, utilizing Republican political operative Paul Manafort and the WikiLeaks platform.
“Nothing in the document released last week (by Gabbard) undermines the widely accepted conclusion that Russia sought to sway the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully alter any votes,” Rodenbush further remarked.
This follows the Trump administration’s contentious management of the Epstein files, which has led to some MAGA supporters distancing themselves from the movement.
Earlier this month, US Attorney General Pam Bondi declared that no additional files would be made public and that Jeffrey Epstein did not possess a ‘client list’ – a statement that seemed to contradict her earlier claims.
In light of this news, MAGA supporters expressed their apprehensions regarding the Trump administration, and a ‘Student Action Summit’ was convened by Turning Point USA, a conservative student activist organization, where the Epstein files were a significant topic of discussion.
