President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday reportedly called for criminal prosecution of former President Barack Obama and several top Obama-era intelligence officials, declaring it is “time to go after people” involved in what he described as a coordinated effort to undermine American democracy and his presidency.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump responded to a question about the so-called “Epstein Files” by pivoting to a broader accusation, referencing newly declassified intelligence reports released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
In those documents, Gabbard alleges that Obama administration officials publicly exaggerated the threat of Russian election interference in 2016, while privately acknowledging it was not capable of changing the election outcome.
“The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama,” Trump told reporters. “What they did to this country in 2016 — starting in 2016 but going up to 2020 — they tried to rig the election and they got caught. There should be very severe consequences for that.”
Gabbard, a former Democratic presidential candidate who now serves as the nation’s top intelligence official, detailed in a Fox News interview that the intelligence community “assessed — and this is what the documents detail — essentially Russia doesn’t have the tools, the capability, or the intent to try to change the outcome of the US presidential election.”
According to Gabbard, these assessments were known internally even as Obama administration officials made public statements suggesting that Russian interference posed a serious threat to American democracy.
Gabbard has since referred her findings to the Department of Justice and called for the prosecution of those involved, accusing the prior administration of attempting to “usurp” the will of the voters.
Despite dismissals from partisan critics who have accused the Trump administration of deflecting attention from recent controversies, the president appeared undeterred.
He reiterated his belief that former officials should face legal consequences — particularly former President Obama, whom he described as “guilty of treason.”
Trump also criticized his earlier restraint in declining to prosecute former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during his first term. “When we caught Hillary Clinton, I said, you know what, let’s not go too far here,” he said. “It’s the ex-wife of a president, and I thought it was sort of terrible. I let her off the hook and I’m very happy I did.”
“But it’s time to start — after what they did to me — it’s time to go after people,” Trump added. “Obama has been caught directly.”
The president did not stop at Obama. He named several others, including former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former President Joe Biden, calling them members of a “gang” involved in what he described as a deliberate plot against him.
As the Department of Justice weighs Gabbard’s referral, the political implications of the allegations — and the president’s forceful call for accountability — are likely to intensify.
But for Trump and his allies, the message is clear: justice delayed may no longer be justice denied.
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