【By Observer, Wang Yi】According to Xinhua, on July 22 local time, U.S. President Trump accused former President Obama of "treason" during the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections, and Obama immediately denied the claim through his spokesperson.
However, this political farce did not end there. On July 23, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard suddenly appeared at the White House press briefing room, once again turning her attention to Obama and his advisors, claiming they had "conspired to undermine the will of the American people" and tried to tarnish Trump's victory by forging evidence. She claimed to have "irrefutable evidence" that could "expose" the Obama team's plan for a "coup."
U.S. media noted that Gabbard's statements were mostly not new and lacked credibility. Nevertheless, Gabbard insisted that her investigation into the previous Democratic administration was to prevent national security agencies from being "weaponized politically." However, this move has sparked doubts about her. As the head of the U.S. intelligence system, her duty is to provide unbiased intelligence, not to get involved in political struggles.
That day at the White House, a verbal confrontation erupted between White House Press Secretary Levitt and journalists over whether Gabbard's active support for Trump was to please him. Levitt refused to acknowledge that Gabbard's actions were "to improve her standing with the president," stating that media hype was an attempt to create division within Trump's team.
Gabbard is defended by White House Press Secretary Levitt in a verbal confrontation with reporters. Screenshot of video
At that time, reporters asked Gabbard to respond to the accusations that "you are now releasing these documents just to raise your status in the president's eyes because the president previously said your intelligence assessment was wrong." Levitt quickly replied on behalf of Gabbard.
"Who said that? She released these to raise her status in the president's eyes, who said that?" Levitt denied that Trump lacked confidence in Gabbard, saying, "I am with the President every day, and he has full confidence in Gabbard." He implied that those making such claims were "constantly trying to sow distrust and chaos in the president's cabinet, but it won't work."
An analysis pointed out that Gabbard's appearance, a former Democratic congressman from Hawaii who ran for president, was clearly well-planned—she was accompanied by her husband with a camera, possibly recording this political highlight moment.
On the podium at the White House, Gabbard brought a report drafted by Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee during Trump's first term. This report did not question Russian interference in the 2016 election, but it pointed out that the intelligence community had made "technical errors" in assessing Russia's intention to make Trump win. Gabbard seized on one point in the report, namely that some unverified rumors and gossip were cited in the classified document attached to the 2017 public file. Although this document was not the basis for the FBI's "Russia investigation," Trump supporters have long used parts of the archive to attack the entire investigation's credibility.
On July 23 local time, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard suddenly appeared at the White House, claiming that Obama had attempted a "coup." Screenshot of video
However, Gabbard could not explain why these documents were not declassified and published during Trump's first term, only stating that she had submitted the relevant documents to the Department of Justice, considering whether to initiate a criminal investigation. A few hours later, the Department of Justice announced the establishment of a "task force" to investigate the matter.
Last Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report stating that they had evidence to accuse former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama, and his national security team of "fabricating and politicizing intelligence information, laying the groundwork for a coup against President Trump that had been酝酿 for years." Gabbard also accused Obama and others of "conspiring treason" and stated that she would submit related documents to the U.S. Department of Justice to hold them accountable.
On the 20th, Trump posted on social media a video generated by artificial intelligence titled "Obama Arrested," which seemed to endorse Gabbard's claims. The video shows Trump and Obama sitting together in the White House Oval Office, and then Obama is arrested by agents to the tune of the song "YMCA." When Obama is finally thrown into prison, Trump smiles.
Later, when asked at the White House "who should be investigated," Trump answered on the 22nd, "The target of the investigation will be Obama, he is the one who started it. After they (the Democrats) did those things to me, it's time to start (accountability). It's time to investigate these people. Obama was caught red-handed."
The rumors have escalated, and Obama, who usually does not comment on serving presidents, could no longer remain silent. He responded through his spokesperson Patrick Rodgers on social media on the 22nd, stating that "the nonsense and false information continuously leaking from the White House" had reached a level that "was absurd enough to require a response," and "these strange accusations are laughable, an attempt to shift attention."
What Obama referred to as "an attempt to shift attention" was that Trump wanted to divert attention from the Epstein case. Epstein had close ties with numerous American political and business figures. He was arrested for sexual crimes and died in custody in August 2019, ruled a suicide. However, there have been ongoing doubts about the cause of his death. During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to release documents related to the Epstein case after taking office. However, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a joint memo on July 7, stating that there was no "client list" and that more documents related to the Epstein case would not be released, sparking dissatisfaction and skepticism among Trump supporters and domestic public opinion.
At this time, Gabbard revived the issue of the Obama team "stealing the election," and Trump quickly followed up, allowing this narrative to spread rapidly. The White House avoided answering questions about whether the timing of the leak was intended to please Trump or shift focus.
Notably, Gabbard had some tension with Trump earlier. In April, she testified before Congress that Iran was not actively developing nuclear weapons, and Trump rejected her assessment before ordering the military to attack Iran. When asked about Gabbard's testimony, Trump firmly replied, "I don't care what she said."
Two anonymous U.S. government officials revealed that Gabbard had recently reported to Trump in the White House Oval Office on her conclusions regarding the "Russia investigation," and Trump expressed satisfaction with her analysis and his own.
Trump also quickly publicly praised Gabbard's loyalty, calling her "the hottest person in the room."
Gabbard's actions have drawn strong opposition from Democrats. They said that Gabbard's report showed that she placed party politics and loyalty to Trump above her duties, and some called for her to resign.
Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a Democratic U.S. Senator from Virginia, sarcastically stated in a statement that "the Trump administration seems to be the only one unwilling to declassify the Epstein files," which would only weaken allies' confidence in sharing intelligence with the United States, as they would worry that the intelligence would be politicized or recklessly declassified.
Jim Himes, senior member of the House Intelligence Committee and a Democratic U.S. Representative from Connecticut, criticized Gabbard for not providing any credible reasons to restart the investigation, saying her views contradicted the conclusions of "multiple credible investigations," and she should resign from her position as Director of National Intelligence.
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