Barack Obama rebukes Trump's 'ridiculous' claims he committed 'treason'
Former US President Barack Obama has dismissed claims by the Trump administration that he committed 'treason', calling them 'a weak attempt at distraction'.
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The rebuke comes after President Donald Trump accused Obama of trying to 'lead a coup' against him and had committed 'treason' over intelligence assessments suggesting that Russia intervened in the 2016 election.
"Look, he’s guilty. It’s not a question," Trump said whilst speaking to reporters on Tuesday.
"This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election."
The Office for President Obama responded by calling the accusations 'ridiculous'.
"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.
"But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction."
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It goes on to criticise a document published by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that outlines the "suppression of intelligence showing 'Russian and criminal actors did not impact' the 2016 presidential election via cyber-attacks on infrastructure."
Gabbard said that all documents related to the 'conspiracy' will be passed to the Department of Justice for criminal referral.
"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," the statement from Obama's office said.
"These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio."
Trump posted an AI video on Sunday showing Obama being arrested in the Oval Office and thrown in jail.
The video was created using real footage of the two men's meeting at the White House in November 2016, when Trump was president-elect and Obama was preparing to leave office.
It follows growing controversy over the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Two weeks ago, the US government claimed no Epstein "client list" existed and reiterated that the disgraced financier had taken his own life in jail.
The comments have caused uproar amongst Trump's supporters, who are demanding justice for Epstein’s victims and punishment for his enablers