President Donald Trump has accused former President Barack Obama of committing “treason” and demanded that he be prosecuted over a new report alleging that members of the Obama administration manipulated intelligence regarding Russia’s involvement in the 2016 US election.
A controversial report released last Friday by Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard claims that Obama-era officials were involved in what she described as a “treasonous conspiracy.” Gabbard stated that she has submitted criminal referrals to the Department of Justice based on the findings presented in the report.
Gabbard’s allegations suggest that Obama and his team deliberately falsified intelligence related to Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. According to her, this was done to set the stage for what she calls an extended political campaign to undermine Trump’s presidency. “They laid the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump,” she claimed.
These assertions, however, are in direct opposition to the findings of four major criminal, intelligence, and oversight investigations conducted between 2019 and 2023. Each of these inquiries concluded that Russian operatives did interfere in the 2016 presidential election with the aim of benefiting Trump.
During a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday—held while Trump welcomed Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos—the Republican leader was asked who, in his opinion, should be held accountable in light of Gabbard’s report.
Responding to the question, Trump said, “Based on what I read—and I read pretty much what you read—it would be President Obama. He started it.” Trump added that Obama was the central figure in the alleged plot, calling him the “leader of the gang.” He claimed Obama was guilty of “treason,” a charge that carries the most severe criminal implications under US law.
Trump also pointed fingers at several other prominent figures who served in the Obama administration, including Joe Biden, who was Vice President at the time, former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former CIA Director John Brennan. He accused them of playing roles in what he characterized as a coordinated effort to discredit and sabotage his administration.
Trump has repeatedly dismissed the various investigations into Russian interference and his campaign’s involvement as a politically motivated “hoax.”
One of the most significant findings contradicting Trump’s claims came from a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report released in 2020. The investigation, which was led at the time by acting chairman Marco Rubio—now Trump’s Secretary of State — concluded that the Trump campaign “sought to maximize the impact” of leaks involving Democratic National Committee documents that had been hacked by Russian military intelligence agents.
The report found that the objective of the cyberattacks was to bolster Trump’s chances in the 2016 election while damaging Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“It is our conclusion… that the Russian intelligence services’ assault on the integrity of the 2016 US electoral process, and Trump and his associates’ participation in and enabling of this Russian activity, represents one of the single most grave counterintelligence threats to American national security in the modern era,” the Senate report stated.
Despite these findings, Trump has remained firm in his belief that he was the target of an elaborate and illegal attempt to remove him from office. The renewed allegations by Tulsi Gabbard have now reignited debate over one of the most contentious and politically polarizing episodes in modern US history.
What you should know
Donald Trump has long challenged the legitimacy of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. His recent treason allegations against Barack Obama come in response to a report by Tulsi Gabbard, despite multiple official findings affirming that Russia did interfere to help Trump win.
