On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of “treason” without presenting any evidence. Trump referenced his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, who recently declassified documents that allegedly demonstrated how the Obama administration initiated the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. According to Trump, “It’s there, he’s guilty. This was treason.” He further claimed that “They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election,” without providing proof. These comments came as Trump diverted journalists’ attention from the Justice Department’s interview with Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of aiding Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls.
Trump’s allegations prompted a response from Obama’s office, labeling the claims as “ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.” Although the office generally refrains from any reaction to the misinformation from the White House, in this case, these accusations were deemed severe enough to warrant a response.
In 2017, the US intelligence community assessed that Russia had employed social media disinformation, hacking, and bot farms to hinder Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and aid Trump. However, the assessment concluded that the impact was likely restricted and there was no evidence that Russia’s efforts influenced the election result.
Moreover, a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report in 2020, led by then acting chairman Marco Rubio, now Trump’s secretary of state, discovered that the Trump campaign aimed to “maximize the impact” of leaked Democratic documents stolen by Russian military intelligence.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/trump-accuses-obama-of-treason-without-providing-evidence/a-73377474?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
