A spokesperson for former President Barack Obama sharply rebuked Trump’s comments today that accused Obama of “treason” and alleged he tried to rig the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
The spokesperson, Patrick Rodenbush, called the allegations “ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction” in a statement today.
“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,” Rodenbush said.
“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. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio,” he added.
Earlier today, Trump had responded to a question about his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case by accusing Obama of criminality.
“After what they did to me — and whether it’s right or wrong — it’s time to go after people. Obama’s been caught directly,” Trump told reporters. “What they did in 2016 and 2020 is very criminal. It’s criminal at the highest level. So that’s really the things you should be talking about.”
“Look, he’s guilty. It’s not a question,” Trump added. “This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election.”