President Donald Trump appeared to call for the arrest of his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, after posting an AI-generated video depicting America’s first Black president being placed in handcuffs in the Oval Office.
On the heels of controversy surrounding the FBI files related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Trump turned his attention away from the bombshell report about a letter he sent his former friend, one for which he subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit—Trump on Sunday re-posted the AI video on Truth Social.
Trump published several posts about Obama, including clips from a Sunday Fox News interview with National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, who accused Obama and his administration officials of engaging in a “treasonous conspiracy” against the Trump 2016 campaign.
On Friday, the Trump administration released an intelligence report that claimed top Obama officials manufactured the beginnings of a years-long federal investigation into Trump’s campaign and Russia alleging the foreign adversary’s interference in the U.S. presidential election. Gabbard said Obama and company were “not happy” about Trump’s shock 2016 victory against Hillary Clinton and therefore “decided that they would do everything possible to try to undermine his ability to do what voters tasked President Trump to do.”
Gabbard, a former Democrat who ran for the party’s presidential nomination in 2020, said the Obama administration relied on “manufactured intelligence” that claimed Russia had “helped Donald Trump get elected,” but argued intelligence before the 2016 election “contradicted” that claim. The national intelligence director said Russia “had neither the intent nor the capability” to hack the election.
The Trump official said she would also make a criminal referral to the FBI based on the recently released documents.
However, the investigation of Trump and his allies did not focus on whether Russia hacked the U.S. election, ie. changing votes or hacking voting systems. Intelligence reports revealed that Russia engaged in a sophisticated interference campaign that included extracting voter registration data in at least two states, and online interference campaigns—including a troll farm targeting Black voters. Analysis of Russia’s interference campaign concluded that it was an effective voter suppression tool.
A DOJ special counsel investigation of the 2016 Russia interference campaign, led by Robert Mueller, concluded that there was not enough evidence to charge any Trump official for conspiring with Russia. However, Mueller made clear his report did not absolve Trump of possible obstruction. His 448-page report outlines 10 potential instances of obstruction of justice committed by Trump, including the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, who was leading an investigation of Russia and the Trump campaign.
Anthony Coley, a former DOJ official for the Biden administration, threw cold water on the Trump administration’s attempt to reframe the 2016 Russia probe. He told theGrio it’s a “distraction” from Trump’s Epstein controversy.
“Distraction, thy name is Donald Trump,” said Coley. “Donald Trump is attacking the left to keep the right from focusing on him. Trump thinks his base is too naive, too stupid even, to see that he’s been playing them on the Epstein matter.”
The former DOJ official added, “His latest claim about Russia and the 2016 election has been thoroughly debunked, including through a bipartisan investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee and a top prosecutor that Trump’s own attorney general appointed.”
