Barack Obama shoots back at Trump's accusation he committed 'treason' in Russiagate

Former President Barack Obama's office on Tuesday rejected accusations that the former president committed treason by allegedly attempting to rig the 2016 election, stating the allegations are "outrageous enough" to warrant an official response.

The comment comes after President Donald Trump claimed his administration has uncovered evidence that the former president allegedly committed treason by engaging in conspiracies to rig the election and keep him from office. 

“This was treason,” Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday. “Barack Hussein Obama is the ringleader. Hillary Clinton was right there with him and so was Sleepy Joe Biden, and so were the rest of them: [former FBI Director James] Comey, [former Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper, the whole group. They tried to rig an election and they got caught. And then they did rig the election in 2020.

“This is like proof, irrefutable proof, that Obama was seditious, that Obama was trying to lead a coup," he continued. “This is the biggest scandal in the history of our country.”

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard last week sent declassified evidence to the Justice Department on what she claimed was a “treasonous conspiracy” related to top U.S. intelligence officials allegedly politicizing intelligence related to Russia and the 2016 election.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has also commented on allegations of a larger conspiracy that attempted to keep Trump out of the White House, or removed from office if elected. 

Obama's office denied allegations that he participated in a conspiracy to dethrone Trump or committed treason and that the "evidence" released by Gabbard did not provide new information about Russia's attempt to influence the 2016 election.

"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," Obama's office said. "But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous 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," the office added.

Grassley said it is now up to the FBI and the current Department of Justice to investigate whether any further actions need to be taken to hold people accountable in the alleged conspiracy plot.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.