In a rare and direct rebuttal, former President Barack Obama has dismissed what his office described as “bizarre allegations” from Donald Trump, who on Tuesday accused his predecessor of masterminding the Trump–Russia investigation.
Trump, speaking from the Oval Office during a meeting with the president of the Philippines, alleged that Obama had orchestrated the “Russiagate” scandal and called for him to be criminally investigated. The former president claimed the intelligence used to justify the probe was “manufactured” under Obama’s administration.
In response, Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush issued a sharply worded statement: “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. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.”
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He continued, “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”
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“These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”
The statement comes on the heels of newly declassified documents released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. According to Gabbard, the files contain “overwhelming evidence” that senior Obama officials, including the president himself, allegedly politicized intelligence after Trump’s 2016 victory to sustain a narrative of collusion with Russia.
Among those named in the files are members of Obama’s National Security Council, DNI James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, national security adviser Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
Gabbard claimed the Obama administration “manufactured and politicized intelligence” despite contrary assessments from the intelligence community. On Monday, she sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department, though DOJ officials have not disclosed who may be the subject of that referral.
Pressed on who should be investigated, Trump was unequivocal: “President Obama. He started it.”
He added, “And Biden was there with him, and Comey was there, and Clapper, the whole group was there. Brennan. They were all there in the room right here. This is the room. It was President Obama. It was lots of people all over the place.”
Trump claimed his administration was in possession of key documents and said Gabbard was preparing to release thousands more. “So President Obama, it was his concept — his idea,” he said. “But he also got it from crooked Hillary Clinton — crooked as a $3 bill, and Hillary Clinton and her group, the Democrats, spent $12 million to Christopher Steele to write up a report that was a total fake report.”
That report, the discredited Steele dossier, served as the basis for FISA warrants used to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Paid for by the Clinton campaign and the DNC via the law firm Perkins Coie, the dossier was widely viewed within the intelligence community as unverified and speculative, yet it was included in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, reportedly under pressure from officials such as Comey, Brennan, and McCabe.
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Trump said the dossier was “a disaster — all lies, all fabrication, all admitted fraud,” adding:
“It took two years to figure that out, but it came out that it was a total fake report — it was made-up fiction — and they used that.”
Returning to Clinton, Obama, and others, Trump continued: “We caught Hillary Clinton, we got Barack Hussein Obama. They’re the ones. And then you have many, many people under them. Susan Rice — they’re all the names.”
Trump accused Obama officials of classifying key documents to bury the truth. “I guess they figured they’re going to put this in as classified information and nobody will ever see it again — but it doesn’t work that way,” he said. “It is the most unbelievable thing I think I’ve ever read.”
He concluded: “Never has a thing like this happened in the history of our country.”
Among the declassified material is a note from July 28, 2016, when then-CIA Director John Brennan briefed Obama on a plan by one of Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy advisors “to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” The note, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in 2020, also stated: “We’re getting additional insight into Russian activities from (REDACTED)… CITE (summarizing) alleged approved by Hillary Clinton a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.”
That intelligence was forwarded to FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok under the subject line “Crossfire Hurricane.”
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who inherited the Crossfire Hurricane probe, concluded in 2019 that there was no criminal conspiracy or coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.
Following Mueller’s findings, Special Counsel John Durham was appointed to investigate the origins of the probe. Durham determined that the FBI “failed to act” on warnings that the bureau may have been manipulated for political ends by Clinton associates ahead of the 2016 election.
Former CIA Director Brennan and ex-FBI Director Comey are now reportedly under criminal investigation, led by FBI Director Kash Patel.
