WASHINGTON, USA — President Donald Trump has reignited a political firestorm by accusing his predecessor, Barack Obama, of “treason,” alleging that the former president conspired to undermine the 2016 election results and sabotage the early months of Trump’s presidency through the Russia investigation.
Speaking at the White House during a press briefing on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 — where he was hosting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — Trump launched into a lengthy criticism of Obama, citing a recently declassified intelligence report released by U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
“They tried to steal the election,” Trump said.
“It’s time to go after people. Obama’s been caught directly. He’s guilty. This was treason. This was every word you can think of.”
The accusations stem from a report issued last Friday by Gabbard’s office, which declassified internal communications from late 2016.
The documents include emails and intelligence briefings from the Obama administration that discussed Russian efforts to interfere in the U.S. presidential election.
The report argues that Obama and his national security team suppressed intelligence findings suggesting Russia’s attempts were unsuccessful in affecting vote tallies.
Gabbard described the actions as part of a “years-long coup against President Trump” and suggested potential referrals for prosecution of Obama-era officials.
In a rare public rebuttal, Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush issued a strongly worded statement, dismissing Trump’s remarks as baseless and politically motivated.
“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,” Rodenbush said.
“But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
Rodenbush emphasised that the declassified materials do not contradict the longstanding consensus of the U.S. intelligence community: Russia attempted to influence the 2016 election in favour of Trump but did not succeed in altering vote counts.
The declassified documents include an 8 December 2016 briefing prepared for Obama which stated: “We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure.”
The following day, a meeting was convened at the White House with top security officials.
An aide to then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper subsequently requested a new intelligence assessment “per the president’s request” outlining the “tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election.”
Gabbard claims the exchange reveals political interference in intelligence reporting.
Critics, however, view the claims as unfounded and lacking legal merit.
The U.S. intelligence community’s official assessment, published in January 2017, concluded that Russia conducted a coordinated campaign to undermine Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and boost Trump’s candidacy.
Tactics included social media manipulation by Russian “bot farms” and the hacking and dissemination of Democratic Party emails.
A 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report reaffirmed those findings and concluded that Russia had acted with the intention of aiding Trump’s campaign.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, co-signed the committee’s report.
Despite the accusations, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation found insufficient evidence to establish that Trump or his campaign coordinated with Russian operatives.
The Mueller probe resulted in several indictments unrelated to election tampering, but no charges of conspiracy with the Kremlin.
A subsequent inquiry led by Special Counsel John Durham criticised the FBI’s handling of the original Russia probe, citing a lack of “analytical rigour” and the use of “raw, uncorroborated intelligence,” but did not recommend criminal prosecution of Obama-era officials.
Trump’s renewed focus on Obama and the Russia investigation coincides with ongoing scrutiny of his administration’s handling of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose connections to powerful individuals remain under investigation.
At Tuesday’s briefing, Trump dismissed questions about Epstein, pivoting instead to the Russia allegations.
No current legal proceedings have been announced in connection to Gabbard’s report.
