A spokesperson for former President Barack Obama, responding sharply to allegations from President Donald Trump, that had accused Obama and prime officers from his administration of orchestrating a treasonous plot to falsely hyperlink him to Russia following his 2016 election win, denounced the claims as “ridiculous”.
“These weird allegations are ridiculous and a weak try at distraction,” Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush stated.
“Out of respect for the workplace of the presidency, our workplace doesn’t usually dignify the fixed nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White Home with a response. However these claims are outrageous sufficient to benefit one.”
“Nothing within the doc issued final week undercuts the broadly accepted conclusion that Russia labored to affect the 2016 presidential election however didn’t efficiently manipulate any votes,” he stated.
“These findings had been affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”
Trump calls declassified intel a ‘treasonous’ revelation
Earlier on Tuesday, President Donald Trump escalated tensions by accusing Obama and his prime aides of committing “treason” by their position in launching the Trump–Russia probe after 2016 election win. Trump’s remarks got here after Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard launched declassified paperwork pointing to what she referred to as politically pushed intelligence manipulation in the course of the Obama period.
Talking from the Oval Workplace, Trump declared: “It’s there, he’s responsible. This was treason. They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did issues that no one’s ever imagined, even in different nations.”
Gabbard information prison referral over Obama-era intel practices
The controversy stems from paperwork declassified by Gabbard, which identify a number of senior officers — together with former DNI James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, Nationwide Safety Advisor Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, Lawyer Basic Loretta Lynch, and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe — as allegedly concerned in shaping a story that tied Trump to Russia.
On Monday, Gabbard despatched a prison referral to the Division of Justice, urging an investigation into what she described because the politicization of intelligence and misuse of federal energy by the Obama administration.
Claims towards Obama’s Nationwide Safety Council
Gabbard’s referral cites a December 9, 2016, assembly on the Obama White Home, attended by Clapper, Brennan, Comey, and different prime officers. In line with her, Obama directed the Intelligence Neighborhood (IC) to craft a brand new intelligence evaluation on Russian election interference.
“The following day (December 9, 2016), prime nationwide safety officers, together with FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan and DNI James Clapper, gathered on the Obama White Home to debate Russia. Obama directed the IC to create a brand new intelligence evaluation that detailed Russian election meddling, though it might contradict a number of intelligence assessments launched over the earlier a number of months,” Gabbard stated in her assertion.
Leaked intel and media manipulation alleged
Gabbard additionally accused Obama-era officers of orchestrating a media marketing campaign to push the interference narrative. She claims categorised particulars had been leaked to main shops to recommend that Russia hacked the election for Trump’s profit.
“Obama officers instantly leaned on their allies within the media to advance their falsehoods,” she acknowledged. “Nameless IC sources leaked categorised info… asserting Russia had intervened to hack the election in Trump’s favor.”
Name for full investigation and prosecution
In her assertion, Gabbard demanded that “each particular person concerned on this conspiracy” be investigated and prosecuted by the DOJ.
“Irrespective of how highly effective, each particular person concerned on this conspiracy should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the legislation,” she declared. “The American individuals’s belief in our democratic republic is dependent upon it.”
