'Ridiculous': Obama responds to Trump claim he was 'ringleader' in conspiracy to 'rig' 2016 election
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'It's time to go after people,' Trump said from the Oval Office as he repeated a baseless claim that former President Barack Obama and other officials had engaged in treason.
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Trump was not making his claims for the first time, but he delivered them when administration officials are harnessing the machinery of the federal government to investigate the targets of Trump's derision, including key officials responsible for scrutinizing Russia's attempts to intervene on Trump's behalf in 2016.
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The backward-looking inquiries are taking place even as the Republican administration's national security agencies are confronting global threats. But they have served as a rallying cry for Trump, who is trying to unify a political base at odds over the Jeffrey Epstein case, with some allies pressing to disclose more information despite the president's push to turn the page.
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Trump's attack prompted a rare response from Obama's post-presidential office.
'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,' 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.
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'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.'
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Trump's tirade, a detour from his official business as he hosted the leader of the Philippines, unfolded against the backdrop of a new report from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that represented his administration's latest attempt to rewrite the history of the Russia investigation, which has infuriated him for years.
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The report, released Friday, downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election by highlighting Obama administration emails showing officials had concluded before and after the presidential race that Moscow had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in Trump's favor.
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