'Weak Attempt At Distraction': Obama On Trump's Allegations Of Russian Interference In 2016 Polls

Last Updated:July 23, 2025, 08:59 IST

Barack Obama's office rejected Donald Trump’s treason accusations, reiterating that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election but did not manipulate votes.

Barack Obama/Donald Trump (File photos: AP)

The office of US Democratic former President Barack Obama on Tuesday said that a document issued last week by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence does not undercut the conclusion that Russia tried to influence the 2016 US election. The document, however, did not manipulate any votes, it said.

The development came after US President Donald Trump accused Obama of “treason" on Tuesday, blaming him for leading an effort to falsely tie him to Russia and undermine his 2016 presidential campaign.

“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," Obama’s office said in a statement.

“These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction," Obama’s office said.

While Trump has frequently attacked Obama by name, the Republican President has not, since returning to office in January, gone this far in pointing the finger at his Democratic predecessor with allegations of criminal action, Reuters reported.

During remarks in the Oval Office, Trump leaped on comments from his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, on Friday in which she threatened to refer Obama administration officials to the Justice Department for prosecution over an intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

She declassified documents and said the information she was releasing showed a “treasonous conspiracy" in 2016 by top Obama administration officials to undermine Trump, claims that Democrats called false and politically motivated.

“It’s there, he’s guilty. This was treason," Trump said on Tuesday, though he offered no proof of his claims.

“They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever imagined, even in other countries."

THE DOCUMENT

An assessment by the US intelligence community published in January 2017 concluded that Russia, using social media disinformation, hacking and Russian bot farms, sought to damage Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign and bolster Trump.

The assessment determined that the actual impact was likely limited and showed no evidence that Moscow‘s efforts actually changed voting outcomes.

A 2020 bipartisan report by the Senate intelligence committee had found that Russia used Republican political operative Paul Manafort, the WikiLeaks website and others to try to influence the 2016 election to help Trump’s campaign.

ALSO READ | Donald Trump Announces ‘Massive’ US-Japan Trade Deal With 15% Tariff

Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

Location :

First Published:

News world 'Weak Attempt At Distraction': Obama On Trump's Allegations Of Russian Interference In 2016 Polls