On Tuesday, President Donald Trump urged the Department of Justice to initiate legal proceedings against former President Barack Obama, claiming that Obama orchestrated an intelligence assessment that implied Russian interference in the 2016 election was aimed at facilitating Trump’s victory.
“After what they did to me, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people. Obama has been caught directly,” Trump stated during a meeting in the Oval Office.
These remarks were made while he welcomed Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
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Trump claimed that Obama, who is 63 years old and served as president from 2009 to 2017, was the principal architect behind the 2016 intelligence assessment, asserting, “If you look at those papers, they have them stone cold, and it was President Obama… the leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him?”
“It’s criminal at the highest level. It would be President Obama, he started it. And [Joe] Biden was there with him, and [then-FBI Director James] Comey was there, and [then-Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper — the whole group was there, and [then-CIA Director John] Brennan,” Trump elaborated.
He further stated: “He’s guilty … This was treason, this was every word you could think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election.”
The renewed call for prosecution follows a criminal referral submitted by current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday, alleging that Obama may have violated the law by commissioning an intelligence report designed to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s 2016 election victory.
Gabbard sent an email revealing that Obama instructed the development of a post-election intelligence assessment, which determined that Russia had interfered in the election to assist Trump in defeating the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.
This assessment subsequently sparked extensive speculation and investigations regarding purported collusion between Trump and Russia.
As per the documents attached to Gabbard’s referral, Clapper’s assistant communicated with intelligence leaders after a White House meeting on December 9, 2016.
The correspondence indicated that, “at the President’s request,” the agencies were tasked with reporting on “the methods Moscow employed and the actions it undertook to influence the 2016 election.”
During his initial term, President Trump was largely under scrutiny by both the FBI and Congress regarding the potential coordination of his campaign with Russia.
The two-year investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller ultimately concluded that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump and the Russian government.
Trump stated regarding Obama, “Look, he’s guilty. It’s not a question.”
He further asserted, “This is like proof, irrefutable proof that Obama was seditious, that Obama led, was trying to lead a coup — and it was with Hillary Clinton, with all these other people, but Obama headed it up. This was treason. This was every word you can think of.”
While addressing the issue in front of Marcos, Trump commented, “This man has seen some pretty rough countries, but you’ve never seen anything like it.”
Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father of President Marcos, governed the Philippines from 1965 until 1986.
Trump also spoke about the ongoing interest in the case involving the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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He made these remarks as reporters inquired about co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently being pursued by the Justice Department for an interview following Attorney General Bondi’s recent decision to restrict further public disclosures in the case.
Trump remarked, “You ought to take a look at that and stop talking about nonsense.”
Additionally, Trump asserted that Gabbard is preparing to unveil more documentation. “From what Tulsi told me, she’s got thousands of additional documents coming. So President Obama, it was his concept, his idea, but he also got it from crooked Hillary Clinton — crooked as a $3 bill,” Trump stated.
He added, “Hillary Clinton and her group, the Democrats, spent $12 million to [ex-MI6 spy] Christopher Steele to write up a report that was a total fake report. It took two years to figure that out, but it came out that it was a total fake report. It was made up fiction, and they used that.”
“The only aspect of the press that I have respected in recent years,” Trump stated, “is that the press chose not to report it prior to the election.” He further expressed that he was “very pleased” to have opted against pursuing charges against Clinton during his initial term for her alleged mishandling of classified information, but hinted that this stance might change. “We have evidence against Hillary Clinton. We have evidence against Barack Hussein Obama. They are the key figures, along with many others beneath them, including [former national security adviser] Susan Rice; all their names are documented. They likely believed that by classifying this information, it would remain hidden indefinitely. However, that is not how it operates,” he remarked. “Obama is the mastermind. Hillary Clinton was complicit, as was sleepy Joe Biden, along with the rest of the group. Comey, Clapper, the entire ensemble attempted to manipulate an election, and they were apprehended.”