President Donald Trump claimed that former President Barack Obama “owes me big” after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
Trump accused Obama of being the “ringleader” of Russiagate and called for a criminal investigation into his actions. These claims come amid allegations that members of Obama’s administration “manufactured” intelligence to push the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. Obama has denied these allegations, with a spokesperson calling them “bizarre.”
According to Trump, the immunity ruling may benefit Obama but not those around him. Trump stated, “He’s done criminal acts, there’s no question about it. But he has immunity, and it probably helps him a lot… he owes me big, Obama owes me big.”
An investigation by the House Intelligence Committee found that the intelligence community, under Obama’s direction, published biased or implausible intelligence suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Trump in the 2016 election. This report was declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in 2020.
The report focused on the creation of the Intelligence Community Assessment of 2017, which included discredited information like the anti-Trump dossier. The ICA was produced under unusual directives from Obama and senior political appointees, leading to its publication without significant challenges to its conclusions.
Obama denied Trump’s allegations, calling them “outrageous” and “ridiculous.” He emphasized that the widely accepted conclusion that Russia sought to influence the 2016 election did not involve manipulating votes.
Gabbard later revealed that there were obstacles from “deep state actors” in releasing information about the Trump-Russia collusion investigation. She emphasized the importance of finding the truth and holding individuals accountable.
Fox News reporters Brooke Singman and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
