Trump accuses Obama of treason in 2016 Russia probe fury
Facing Epstein scrutiny, US president unleashes unproven allegations of a 2016 ‘coup’ against his predecessor
US President Donald Trump accused former president Barack Obama of “treason” on Tuesday, accusing him, without providing evidence, of leading an effort to falsely tie him to Russia and undermine his 2016 presidential campaign.
A spokesperson for Obama denounced Trump’s claims, saying “these bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction”.
While Trump has frequently attacked Obama by name, the Republican president has not, since returning to office in January, gone this far in pointing the finger at his Democratic predecessor with allegations of criminal action.
During remarks in the Oval Office, Trump leapt on comments from his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, on Friday in which she threatened to refer Obama administration officials to the Justice Department for prosecution over an intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
She declassified documents and said the information she was releasing showed a “treasonous conspiracy” in 2016 by top Obama administration officials to undermine Trump, claims that Democrats called false and politically motivated.