Trump Reasserts Claims of Obama-Led "Coup" Attempt
Former President Donald Trump is once again bringing attention to his long-standing and widely disputed claims that former President Barack Obama orchestrated a "coup" attempt following the 2016 election. In recent posts, Trump insists that those involved "must pay" for their alleged actions.
Trump's Truth Social Posts
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump has returned to a familiar strategy, potentially aiming to shift focus away from ongoing discussions about the Epstein files. He's repeating unsubstantiated accusations against Barack Obama and former U.S. intelligence officials who concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. The topic of election interference continues to be a major point of discussion.
"The Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX is now TOTALLY UNDISPUTED! THE FACTS ARE ALL THERE, IN BLACK AND WHITE," Trump posted on Friday morning. "It is the biggest scandal in American History. The perpetrators of this CRIME must pay a big price. This can never be allowed to happen in our Country again!"
He then shared a video from The Daily Signal featuring right-wing historian Victor Davis Hanson accusing Obama-era intelligence leaders of conspiring to “destroy” Trump after his victory over Hillary Clinton. “They must pay for the crime of the Century,” Trump added.
Gabbard's Allegations and Obama's Response
These renewed attacks are fueled by claims made earlier this month by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Citing newly declassified documents, Gabbard alleged a "treasonous conspiracy" by Obama and senior national security officials. She suggests they fabricated Russian election interference to undermine the legitimacy of the 2016 results.
Gabbard accused Obama and his team of attempting to lay the groundwork for "what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump" by presenting misleading information. Her claims hinge on a perceived contradiction regarding U.S. intelligence findings in January 2017. While the report stated that Russia ran an influence campaign to help Trump, it did not assert that Moscow successfully manipulated votes.
It's important to note that the Obama administration never claimed Russia changed vote totals or hacked voting machines. In fact, a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, including current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also found that Russia had indeed attempted to aid Trump's 2016 campaign.
In response to Gabbard's allegations, Obama's office stated, "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."
Additional Developments and the Epstein Connection
Elsewhere, certain Trump loyalists, including Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, have expressed enthusiasm over declassified documents showing the FBI investigated intelligence reports alleging Hillary Clinton approved a plan to vilify Trump by linking him to Vladimir Putin before the 2016 election. This situation highlights the ongoing sensitivity surrounding political campaigns.
However, an annex to a 2023 report by Special Counsel John Durham suggests that this supposed approval from Clinton may have been fabricated by Russian spies, according to The New York Times.
Trump's Truth Social posts attacking Obama coincide with his increasing involvement in the controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and convicted sex offender. After years of claiming their friendship ended over a real estate dispute, Trump now asserts he severed ties with Epstein because the financier "stole" young workers from Mar-a-Lago. This political news is rapidly changing.
"He took people. I say, ‘Don’t do it anymore,’ you know, they work for me,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “He took some others. Once he did that, that was the end of him.”
One of the women Trump alleged Epstein "stole" from him was Virginia Giuffre, a sex trafficking victim of Epstein’s who died via suicide in April.
```