Former President Obama on Tuesday denied the Trump administration’s claims that he manipulated intelligence related to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesperson for Obama, said in a statement sent to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister company.
“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.
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard issued a report last Friday detailing the alleged election fraud and said officials involved were engaged in a “treasonous conspiracy.”
Gabbard also said her office was turning over evidence to the Justice Department for possible criminal referrals with the support of President Trump.
“He’s guilty, it’s not a question,” Trump told reporters referring to Obama. “This was treason, this was every word you can think of.”
The president said then-Vice President Biden, former FBI director James Comey, former DNI director James Clapper and former CIA director John Brennan could face criminal charges for the controversy.
The report follows Trump’s March memo ordering the declassification of “all files related to Crossfire Hurricane,” the name given to the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump has long denied that Russia influenced his successful White House bid in 2016 against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton’s campaign team spent more than $1 million on an investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia. The Perkins Coie law firm led the probe using resources from the research company Fusion GPS, which later hired retired British spy Christopher Steele to discover information on foreign involvement in the U.S. election.
The DNC was ultimately fined $105,000 and the Clinton campaign was fined $8,000 by the Federal Election Commission for not disclosing the amount spent on the investigation, according to a letter sent by the agency following inquiry.
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