In a rare and pointed public rebuke, former President Barack Obama has strongly denied Donald Trump’s latest accusations that he orchestrated the so-called “Russiagate” scandal, calling the claims “bizarre” and “outrageous.”
The clash erupted Tuesday after Trump publicly alleged that Obama was the “ringleader” behind the Trump–Russia investigation, urging that he be criminally prosecuted. Trump’s renewed claims followed newly declassified documents suggesting members of the Obama administration may have “manufactured” intelligence to spark the yearslong probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In response, Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush issued a rare statement condemning the allegations.
“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,” Rodenbush said. “But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.”
“These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” he continued. “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.”
Rodenbush further pointed to the 2020 bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report—led by Republican Senator Marco Rubio—which upheld the U.S. intelligence community’s findings about Russian interference.
The heated exchange comes on the heels of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s release of documents that she claims show “overwhelming evidence” that the Obama administration politicized intelligence following Trump’s 2016 victory. According to Gabbard, the documents suggest Obama and top security officials laid the foundation for the Russia investigation despite conflicting internal intelligence.
As tensions between the two former presidents escalate, the renewed focus on Russiagate has once again thrust one of the most controversial chapters of Trump’s presidency back into the spotlight.
Former President Donald Trump has intensified his accusations against Barack Obama, claiming the former president was the “mastermind” behind the Russia collusion investigation, and calling for a full criminal probe. The remarks came just hours after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released newly declassified documents and submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department based on her findings.
The documents name several senior Obama-era officials, including then-National Security Council members, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Gabbard alleges that this group helped “manufacture and politicize” intelligence to justify the launch of the Trump–Russia probe following the 2016 election.
While the Justice Department has not disclosed details of Gabbard’s referral or identified any specific targets, Trump didn’t hold back when asked who should be investigated.
“President Obama. He started it,” Trump said Tuesday from the Oval Office during a meeting with the president of the Philippines. “And Biden was there with him, and Comey was there, and Clapper, the whole group was there. Brennan. They were all there in the room right here.”
Trump claimed that his administration now possesses key documents — with “thousands more” expected from Gabbard — allegedly proving that the investigation was built on falsehoods.
“This was Obama’s concept — his idea,” Trump said. “But he also got it from crooked Hillary Clinton — crooked as a $3 bill. Her team and the Democrats spent $12 million to pay Christopher Steele to write a total fake report.”
That “fake report,” known as the Steele dossier, has long been criticized for its unverified claims and was funded through law firm Perkins Coie by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The dossier later became a core component in the FBI’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant applications targeting former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Despite being described internally by intelligence officials as “internet rumor,” the dossier reportedly made its way into the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment — with top figures like Comey, McCabe, and Brennan allegedly pushing for its inclusion.
“It took two years to figure that out, but it came out that it was a total fake report — it was made-up fiction — and they used that,” Trump said. “The Steele report was a disaster — all lies, all fabrication, all admitted fraud.”
No other former Obama administration officials have publicly responded to the new documents or to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
As tensions escalate and new records emerge, the explosive claims and counterclaims have reignited fierce debate over the origins of the Russiagate narrative — and who, if anyone, should be held accountable.
Continuing his fiery remarks, former President Trump named names, accusing high-profile Obama-era officials of orchestrating the Russia collusion probe to undermine his presidency.
“We caught Hillary Clinton. We got Barack Hussein Obama. They’re the ones,” Trump said. “And then you have many, many people under them—Susan Rice—those are the names.”
He referenced newly surfaced intelligence materials and transcripts, which include admissions by Obama officials that they had no “empirical evidence” of collusion between Trump and Russia—despite the yearslong investigation that followed.
“I guess they figured they’re going to put this in as classified information and nobody will ever see it again—but it doesn’t work that way,” Trump continued. “It is the most unbelievable thing I think I’ve ever read.”
In his final remarks, Trump framed the revelations as unprecedented in American history.
“Never has a thing like this happened in the history of our country,” he said, characterizing the alleged scheme as a politically motivated effort to sabotage his administration before it began.
On July 28, 2016, then-CIA Director John Brennan personally briefed President Barack Obama on a controversial plan reportedly devised by one of Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy advisers to “vilify Donald Trump” by fabricating a scandal about Russian interference, according to meeting notes obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.
“We’re getting additional insight into Russian activities from [REDACTED],” Brennan’s handwritten notes stated, referencing intelligence sources. The notes further summarized a proposal, allegedly approved by Clinton, aimed at stirring up a scandal by accusing Trump of colluding with the Russian security service.
Following this briefing, the CIA passed the information through official channels via a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) to then-FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok. The subject line of the communication read: “Crossfire Hurricane”—the code name for the FBI’s infamous Russia probe.
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller took over the FBI’s original “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. After nearly two years of inquiry, Mueller’s March 2019 report found no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
Following Mueller’s conclusion, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to examine the origins of the “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation itself.
Durham’s findings revealed that the FBI “failed to act” on a “clear warning sign” that it was being targeted by a Clinton-led effort to “manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes” ahead of the 2016 election.
Meanwhile, former FBI Director James Comey and ex-CIA Director John Brennan are reportedly under criminal investigation, a probe initiated by FBI Director Kash Patel.