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Under the gun over Epstein, Trump tries to finger Obama for ‘treason’

By Michael Koziol

Washington: There’s something about the presence of a foreign leader in the Oval Office that spurs Donald Trump into territory that is, even for him, extreme.

On Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), it was the Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr who bore witness to a stunning display of temerity as the US president accused one of his predecessors, Barack Obama, of trying to engineer a coup and committing “treason”.

Donald Trump meets Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday.

Donald Trump meets Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday.Credit: AP

The allegation, spurious as it is, arises from a document compiled by Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, alleging a “treasonous conspiracy” by senior Obama administration officials in 2016 to wrongly assert that Russia interfered in the presidential election of that year, which Trump won.

In short, the dossier suggests intelligence officials changed their findings under political pressure from Obama and others, and embraced the narrative that Vladimir Putin’s regime tried to swing the vote for Trump.

The 11-page memo disingenuously conflates different findings. Officials never alleged a Russian operation to hack voting systems; they did, however, come to the view that Russia backed Trump over Democrat rival Hillary Clinton and attempted to influence the election outcome in surreptitious ways.

That was also the conclusion of multiple investigations, including a lengthy Senate Intelligence Committee report signed in 2020 by Republicans, including now Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of treason in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of treason in the Oval Office on Tuesday.Credit: AP

But Trump is now propagating the idea it was all invented at a December 2016 White House meeting, based on an email tasking intelligence chiefs to prepare an assessment “per the President’s request”, referring to Obama.

“Obama’s been caught directly. His orders are on the paper. The papers are signed,” Trump raged in the Oval Office. “They have them stone-cold and it was President Obama. The leader of the gang was President Obama. Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him?”

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Trump made clear he was not just raising an allegation: in his mind, this was a closed case. “He’s guilty. It’s not a question. I like to say let’s give it time. But it’s there, he’s guilty. This was treason, this was every word you could think of.”

The president went on: “This isn’t like evidence, this is like proof. Irrefutable proof that Obama was seditious. That Obama was trying to lead a coup. And it was with Hillary Clinton, with all these other people, but Obama headed it up ... it says so right in the papers.”

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton walks off stage as Donald Trump looks on after a campaign debate in 2016.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton walks off stage as Donald Trump looks on after a campaign debate in 2016.Credit: Getty Images

It was “the biggest scandal in the history of our country”, Trump claimed. At one point, he spoke uninterrupted on the topic for six straight minutes, as President Marcos watched on.

Obama, who has been out of office for more than eight years, enters the political fray selectively these days. But he was moved to respond to what he called “bizarre allegations” 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,” Obama said.

Trump’s rant could be dismissed as frivolous – and Obama, like many others, clocked the intention to distract – but it may yet prove dangerous. Gabbard threatened referrals for criminal prosecutions. Trump posted a fake AI video of Obama being arrested. And on Tuesday he said: “After what they did to me, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people.”

Barack Obama working in the Oval Office  when he was president in 2016.

Barack Obama working in the Oval Office when he was president in 2016.Credit: Bloomberg

The increasingly desperate attempts to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein story appear to be having some effect. Fox News, a key Trump organ, has taken up the Obama “story”, as have other MAGA channels and podcasts.

But many Republicans on Capitol Hill are still demanding the Epstein files be released. Speaker Mike Johnson bought Trump some time by calling off votes scheduled for later in the week and telling lawmakers to leave early for their summer break. Nonetheless, there is a drumbeat for more transparency.

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In the meantime, Trump is barely concealing his attempt at flooding the zone with distractions. “It’s the most unbelievable thing I think I’ve ever read,” he told reporters of the records released by Gabbard. “So you ought to take a look at that and stop talking about [the Epstein] nonsense.”

It seems he will try anything. Except, of course, releasing the files.

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Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/under-the-gun-over-epstein-trump-tries-to-finger-obama-for-treason-20250723-p5mh2t.html