Former President Barack Obama has strongly denied Donald Trump’s claims that he attempted a “coup” following the 2016 election.
Former President Barack Obama has strongly denied Donald Trump’s claims that he attempted a “coup” following the 2016 election. In a rare statement, Obama’s office called the allegations “outrageous” and “a weak attempt at distraction.” Trump had alleged Obama committed “treason” by manufacturing intelligence on Russian interference.
Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, supported these claims in an 11-page report recommending prosecutions of Obama-era officials. However, Obama’s office rebutted that the document “undercuts nothing” and reaffirmed that “Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”
The bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee’s 2020 report also supported these findings. Intelligence veteran Fulton Armstrong dismissed Gabbard’s report as “obviously written with a pre-ordained conclusion,” adding, “Her reference to ‘deep state officials’ is amateurish, silly, and undercuts the whole damned document.”
Trump, meanwhile, continued to escalate his rhetoric, calling Obama “the leader of the gang” and claiming “irrefutable proof” of treason.