Former President Barack Obama on July 22 said he stood by the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election.
Obama was hitting back at a report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on July 18, which claimed to demonstrate how the former president and his national security Cabinet had “manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup” against Donald Trump after he had defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Trump earlier in the day also accused Obama of “treason” during an Oval Office meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, calling him a “ringleader” and his actions “seditious.”
Obama’s office dismissed the claims as another example of the constant “nonsense and misinformation” that emanates out of the White House.
“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’s office said in a statement on July 22. “These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”
Rubio currently serves as Trump’s Secretary of State.
The U.S. intelligence community in 2017 said Russia had interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections and sought to hurt Clinton, who was Trump’s Democratic opponent, while trying to help Trump.
Obama’s office added: “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. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who released the report, said the intelligence community’s assessment was “politicized intelligence that was used as the basis for countless smears seeking to delegitimize President Trump’s victory.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Obama responds to DNI report on Russian influence 2016 election
