President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his attacks on former President Barack Obama, accusing him of committing “treason” for allegedly orchestrating a plot to falsely link Trump to Russian interference in the 2016 election—a claim offered without evidence and dismissed by Obama’s spokesperson as “bizarre” and politically motivated.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump seized on remarks made last week by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who threatened to refer Obama-era officials to the Justice Department over their handling of the intelligence community’s 2017 assessment on Russian election interference.
“She [Gabbard] declassified the documents. It’s all there. He’s guilty. This was treason,” Trump said, alleging that Obama and top aides led a “coup attempt” to undermine his first presidential run. “They tried to steal the election. They did things that people wouldn’t believe— even in other countries.”
Gabbard, a former Democrat turned Trump ally, claimed the intelligence findings had been manipulated in 2016 to damage Trump’s campaign—accusations that Democrats have called false and contradicted by multiple reviews, including a recent CIA-ordered analysis.
Obama Denies Allegations
A spokesperson for Obama, Patrick Rodenbush, dismissed Trump’s remarks: “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the documents released last week contradicts the well-established conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 election.”
Rodenbush emphasized that no evidence has emerged to suggest any votes were changed or manipulated. “The conclusion remains intact: Russia conducted influence operations, but they did not successfully alter vote outcomes,” he said.
Gabbard’s Documents Mischaracterized, Experts Say
The documents declassified by Gabbard last week do not refute the January 2017 U.S. intelligence assessment that Russian operatives—under orders from President Vladimir Putin—used disinformation, hacking, and cyber tactics to boost Trump and harm Hillary Clinton. A 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report similarly concluded that Russia sought to influence the election in Trump’s favor, using figures like Paul Manafort and platforms like WikiLeaks.
Intelligence experts note that Gabbard conflated two separate findings: one, that Russia was not hacking vote-counting systems, and two, that Moscow did engage in influence operations through cyber propaganda and data leaks. The 2017 report, prepared under Obama, focused on the latter.
Though a review ordered by former DNI John Ratcliffe found some procedural flaws in how the assessment was produced, it reaffirmed the “quality and credibility” of the underlying CIA intelligence.
Trump Doubles Down
Trump’s latest accusations reflect his broader effort to cast himself as a victim of what he calls a politically motivated “witch hunt” dating back to 2016. Since returning to office in January, he has repeatedly attacked former presidents Obama and Joe Biden, suggesting they abused power to target him and his allies.
Pressed in the Oval Office about releasing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein—a matter gaining traction among Trump’s base—Trump instead pivoted to attacking his predecessors.
“The witch hunt you should be talking about is the one led by President Obama,” he claimed. “He was caught cold. It’s time to go after the people who tried to destroy this country from within.”
Political Backlash
Trump’s remarks drew swift rebukes from Democrats. Representative Jim Himes wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “This is a lie. And if he’s confused, the President should ask @SecRubio, who helped lead the bipartisan Senate investigation that unanimously concluded there was no politicization of intelligence in the 2016 election.”
Marco Rubio, now serving as Trump’s Secretary of State, co-led the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation in 2020 that confirmed Russia’s efforts but found no evidence that intelligence agencies acted with partisan intent.
Trump has also revived past claims, including one from 2011 in which he falsely alleged that Obama was not born in the United States—a conspiracy theory that prompted Obama to release his birth certificate.
In a more recent example, Trump accused President Biden of signing documents using an autopen, a claim the White House called “completely false and absurd.”
As Trump intensifies his rhetoric and seeks to frame his presidency as under siege from a “deep state conspiracy,” critics warn his unsubstantiated allegations risk further politicizing national security and intelligence institutions.
