President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused former President Barack Obama of committing treason, claiming without proof that Obama led an effort to falsely connect Trump to Russian election interference in 2016.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said, “It’s there, he’s guilty. This was treason.” He suggested that top Obama-era officials orchestrated a conspiracy to undermine his campaign and presidency. “They tried to steal the election,” Trump added, “they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever imagined.”
Obama’s spokesperson, Patrick Rodenbush, dismissed the accusation as a “bizarre” attempt to shift focus. “These allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” he said in a statement.
Trump’s remarks came after his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, released declassified documents last week and claimed they pointed to a conspiracy by Obama officials. She has threatened to refer some of them to the Justice Department.
The documents Gabbard shared, however, do not match her interpretation, according to both Democrats and multiple prior intelligence reviews.
A CIA review published earlier this month found that while some flaws existed in how the intelligence was compiled, the conclusions remained credible. The January 2017 U.S. intelligence assessment, authorized under Obama, had stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered operations to influence the 2016 election in Trump’s favor. It did not claim that votes were manipulated.
The issue remains unresolved, even after a 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence report outlined Russia’s election interference—ranging from leaked materials to targeted social media campaigns and ties to individuals like Paul Manafort. Crucially, the report confirmed no votes were altered.
But none of that has stopped Trump, who continues to insist the investigation was a “witch hunt” designed to target him. His push against the findings has even included sharing a doctored video showing Obama being arrested in the Oval Office.
During Tuesday’s press interaction, Trump also deflected a question about releasing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, pivoting instead to accuse Obama of staging a coup. “They caught President Obama absolutely cold,” Trump said, implying legal action was imminent. “After what they did to me… it’s time to go after people.”
Former Representative Jim Himes pushed back online. “This is a lie,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter. “And if he’s confused, the President should ask @SecRubio, who helped lead the bipartisan Senate investigation.”
Marco Rubio, now serving as Trump’s Secretary of State, had been part of the Senate panel that reviewed Russian interference claims.
Trump has a history of targeting Obama. In 2011, he questioned Obama’s birthplace, prompting the then-president to release his birth certificate. In recent months, Trump has revived some of those confrontational tactics against both Obama and former President Joe Biden.
Gabbard’s documents, according to analysts, mixed up two separate intelligence assessments. One found Russia had not tried to hack voting systems. The other concluded that Moscow likely attempted to sway public opinion through cyber operations and propaganda, including the release of Democratic Party emails.
Intelligence officials are standing by their classified CIA report, calling it credible despite President Trump’s ongoing criticism.
Despite fresh allegations, the White House has remained silent on how it plans to proceed. So far, there are no charges against Obama and no formal investigation underway.
