In a stunning escalation of his long-running feud with the Obama administration, former President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of treason during a press event in the Oval Office. Citing newly released documents by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Trump pointed the finger directly at the former president, alleging he orchestrated a conspiracy during the 2016 election. Experts and reports, however, call the claims “wildly misleading.”
Trump Accuses Obama of Treason in Escalating 2016 Russia Probe Attacks
In a stunning escalation of his long-running feud with the Obama administration, former President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of treason during a press event in the Oval Office. Citing newly released documents by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Trump pointed the finger directly at the former president, alleging he orchestrated a conspiracy during the 2016 election. Experts and reports, however, call the claims “wildly misleading.”
“Well, based on what I read, and I read pretty much what you read, it would be President Obama. He started it,” Trump said.
“And Biden was there with them and Comey was there and Clapper. The whole group was there… the leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him?”
‘He Started It’: Trump Points to Obama, Clinton, and Biden as ‘Ringleaders’
During a rambling Oval Office appearance alongside Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Trump named Barack Obama as the “leader of the gang” behind what he described as a treasonous attempt to interfere in the 2016 election. Trump claimed the former president, along with Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, James Comey, John Brennan, Susan Rice, and others, plotted against him using fabricated evidence like the discredited Steele dossier.
“They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election,” Trump said.
“This was treason, this was every word you can think of.”
“So President Obama, it was his concept, his idea, but he also got it from crooked Hillary Clinton… Hillary Clinton and her group, the Democrats, spent $12 million to Christopher Steele to write up a report that was a total fake report.”
Trump referenced Gabbard’s release of documents supposedly implicating Obama-era officials and claimed more documents are on the way.
“And from what Tulsi told me, she’s got thousands of additional documents coming,” Trump said.
Despite his dramatic accusations, there is no evidence that Obama or others altered the outcome of the election, nor has any official report supported the charge of treason. A 2017 intelligence assessment concluded that while Russia did launch an influence campaign, it did not change vote tallies. The bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee echoed this finding in 2020.
CNN, Experts Dismiss Allegations as Misleading and Politically Driven
CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Katie Bo Lillis described the claims in Tulsi Gabbard’s documents as “wildly misleading.” Intelligence officials clarified that no U.S. election systems were compromised and that no votes were altered. The documents center on Russian influence operations, not vote hacking, and do not support the assertion that Obama or others committed treason.
Obama’s office responded forcefully, calling Trump’s remarks “outrageous,” and “a weak attempt at distraction.”
“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,” Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said.
“But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
“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.”
Throughout his lengthy comments, Trump intertwined his allegations with attacks on the media, undocumented immigrants, inflation, and the 2020 election, reiterating his false claim that the latter was rigged.
“No, Barack Hussein Obama is the ringleader. Hillary Clinton was right there with them, and so was sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump added.
“They tried to rig an election and they got caught. And then they did rig the election in 2020.”
“And then, because I knew I won that election by a lot, I did it a third time and I won in a landslide.”
Analysts say the accusation of treason is legally and historically serious, but politically ungrounded. Even in Trump’s own legal challenges regarding election interference, he has never faced such a charge himself.
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