https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna220393
Former President Barack Obama's office issued a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump on Tuesday after the president accused his predecessor of having committed "treason" and rigging the 2016 and 2020 elections.
"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 spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said. "But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction."
When reporters on Tuesday asked Trump about the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he pivoted to what he called Obama's "criminality."
“After what they did to me — and whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people. Obama’s been caught directly,” Trump told reporters. “What they did in 2016 and 2020 is very criminal. It’s criminal at the highest level. So that’s really the things you should be talking about.”
Look, he’s guilty. It’s not a question,” Trump added. “This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election.”
Trump was referring to claims made by National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe in social media posts and television appearances that they had found Obama administration officials manipulated intelligence and conspired to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s electoral victory in 2016.
Gabbard posted on social media on Friday that she was making a criminal referral to the Justice Department.
At an event with congressional Republicans later Tuesday, Trump praised Gabbard and again accused Obama of being part of an effort to rig the elections. “These are vicious, horrible people,” he said of the former president and others.
Rodenbush said the Trump administration is being misleading about the information it's using to push its claims.
"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," Rodenbush said.
Asked to comment on Obama's statement, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said, "The White House is appreciative of Director Gabbard’s commitment to transparency and effort to end the weaponization of government against American citizens.”
Gabbard alleges the documents show that Russia did not seek to interfere in the 2016 election for Trump's benefit, despite numerous investigations that showed otherwise.
“On Dec 8, 2016, IC officials prepared an assessment for the President’s Daily Brief, finding that Russia 'did not impact recent U.S. election results' by conducting cyber attacks on infrastructure. Before it could reach the President, it was abruptly pulled 'based on new guidance.' This key intelligence assessment was never published,” Gabbard wrote in one post.