Ridiculous, weak attempt at distraction: Obama rebukes Trump's 'treason' charge
Reacting to Trump's grave allegations, Obama's office released a statement, terming the remarks "ridiculous" and a "weak attempt at distraction".
Trump made the remarks against Obama as he deflected from the question he was asked regarding the Justice Department's decision to interview Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
'Our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' said Patrick Rodenbush, an Obama spokesman. 'But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.'
What did Trump say?
Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of efforts to "undermine" his 2016 US Presidential campaign and trying to "steal" the election. Trump had won the 2016 presidential polls, defeating opponent Hilary Clinton.
"It's there, he's guilty. This was treason," Trump said on Tuesday. "They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody's ever imagined, even in other countries," Trump said.
His remarks came in light of the intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Months after the elections that year, a US intelligence report indicated that Russia used "social media disinformation, hacking and bot farms" to damage Hilary Clinton's campaign and boost Trump's.
However, Trump's intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard recently threatened to refer some Obama administration officials for prosecution over the assessment, alleging there was a "treasonous conspiracy' in 2016 to undermine Trump.
"The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama absolutely cold," Trump said.
He also accused Obama of trying to "lead a coup", threatening action against him and his former officials.
"It's time to start, after what they did to me, and whether it's right or wrong, it's time to go after people. Obama has been caught directly," Trump said.
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