In a dramatic turn of events, President Trump appeared to call for the arrest of former President Barack Obama following explosive allegations from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
On Friday, Gabbard released hundreds of declassified documents related to the long-running investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. The documents, she claims, expose a coordinated effort led by Obama to derail Trump’s presidency from the very beginning.
“These emails reveal the use of manufactured and politicized intelligence,” Gabbard stated. “Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and carry out what amounts to a years-long coup to prevent President Trump from fulfilling his mandate.”
The bold accusation, coupled with Trump’s endorsement of the claim, sent shockwaves through political circles and sparked fierce backlash across the internet.
Former President Donald Trump escalated political tensions over the weekend by sharing a controversial AI-generated video depicting Barack Obama being arrested—just days after Tulsi Gabbard, now Director of National Intelligence, accused the Obama administration of orchestrating a “years-long coup” to remove him from power.
Trump reposted clips of Gabbard’s interviews with Fox News and other outlets on Truth Social, fully embracing her claims. But on Sunday, he went further, reposting a TikTok video titled “No One Is Above the Law.”
The AI-manipulated video opens with a montage of Democratic leaders—including Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and Obama himself—repeating the phrase “no one is above the law.” It then cuts to a digitally altered scene of Trump and Obama seated in the Oval Office before showing Obama being handcuffed and hauled away by FBI agents to the beat of Village People’s “YMCA.” The video ends with Obama in an orange jumpsuit, behind bars.
The viral clip triggered a fierce backlash online, with critics accusing Trump of inciting political unrest and promoting deepfake disinformation.
Meanwhile, the firestorm stems from Gabbard’s release of a 114-page trove of declassified documents linked to the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. According to Gabbard, the documents prove top Obama-era officials—including then-FBI Director James Comey and intelligence chief James Clapper—knowingly used “manufactured and politicized intelligence” to undermine Trump’s presidency.
“Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and carry out what amounts to a years-long coup,” Gabbard said. She called for full investigations and possible criminal charges against all involved, including Obama.
The released documents, many heavily redacted, show internal discussions about how to frame Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election. Notably, one draft assessment stated:
“Russia probably is not going to be able to [influence] the election by using cyber means to manipulate computer-enabled election infrastructure.”
Despite this, Democrats continued to push narratives suggesting Russia had compromised the integrity of the election—something Gabbard claims was deliberately misleading.
Her statement was blistering:
“Their egregious abuse of power and blatant rejection of our Constitution threatens the very foundation of our democratic republic. Every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The documents include a directive sent to intelligence officials on December 9, 2016—just a month after Trump’s surprise victory over Hillary Clinton—ordering them to prepare a detailed assessment of Russia’s tactics “per the President’s request.”
A follow-up January 2017 report concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin had indeed ordered an influence campaign targeting the U.S. election, with cyber efforts aimed at both political parties.
As the controversy brews, Trump’s AI post has added fuel to an already raging fire—raising serious questions about political accountability, misinformation, and the weaponization of artificial intelligence in American politics.
Among the newly released documents is a previously unseen August 31, 2016 memo from an anonymous official stating clearly that there was “no indication of a Russian threat to directly manipulate the actual vote count through cyber means.”
Democrats have pushed back, claiming that Tulsi Gabbard’s declassification move is a deliberate distraction aimed at shifting focus away from the Justice Department’s recent decision to close its investigation into the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
In a sharp counter, President Trump has ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi—pending court approval—to release grand jury testimony files, intensifying the battle over transparency and accountability in multiple high-profile investigations.