US President Donald Trump has again ignited controversy with calls for the prosecution of Barack Obama and his senior staff. They allegedly conspired to sabotage his 2016 election win. Trump’s sensational July 19 Truth Social post applauds Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard for having released a 114-page declassified report blaming Obama’s staff for manipulating intelligence.
The report charges a political conspiracy for attempting to falsely attribute Russian interference. Tulsi Gabbard has submitted her report to the Department of Justice, but no charges have been brought. Opponents criticize this as a political smokescreen, particularly with Trump under renewed scrutiny over the files of Jeffrey Epstein.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just mentioned Obama and his cronies being PROSECUTED after being “unequivocally EXPOSED on highest levels election fraud.”
That’s your cue, @AGPamBondi.
LOCK THEM UP! pic.twitter.com/gQTuvI73vG
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 19, 2025
Gabbard Report Accuses Obama’s Inner Circle
On July 18, Tulsi Gabbard came out with a report accusing top-level election interference cover-ups. The report states that former DNI James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey, and advisor Susan Rice manipulated intelligence to sabotage Trump.
She quotes a Dec. 7, 2016, memo affirming that no cyberattack altered the outcome of the 2016 election. She says a White House meeting on Dec. 9 resulted in a January 2017 report erroneously accusing Russia of assisting Trump’s victory. Gabbard states that this launched the Mueller investigation and years of ensuing political repercussions.
She also blames Obama for an intelligence shift. The report also states officials partly depended on the discredited Steele dossier. Gabbard sent the case to the DOJ, requesting prosecution. Trump reproduced the call, tweeting, “Keep it coming!!!”
Critics Slam ‘Baseless’ Treason Allegations
Democratic leaders resisted hard. Sen. Mark Warner, a prominent member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, cited a three-year, bipartisan investigation that supported the 2017 intelligence report.
Rep. Jim Himes branded Gabbard’s allegations as “baseless” and cautioned against politicizing intelligence. The 2020 bipartisan Senate report established that Russia attempted to prop up Trump without any evidence of manipulated intelligence. The 2019 report by Robert Mueller also established extensive Russian meddling but no criminal collaboration between Trump’s campaign and it.
Gabbard’s thin intelligence background has also drawn suspicion. Even a subsequent CIA review by John Ratcliffe, while criticizing some 2017 practices, reaffirmed the finding that Russia favoured Trump.
Epstein Files Stir New Political Drama
The fresh claims fall in the midst of fresh controversy around Jeffrey Epstein’s case. On 18 July—the same day that Gabbard issued her report—Trump directed AG Pamela Bondi to release grand jury testimony. This followed pressure from conservative circles calling for Epstein’s “client list.
But the DOJ assured that such a list does not exist. In the meantime, images of Trump and Epstein together at Mar-a-Lago in the 1990s have re-emerged. A Wall Street Journal report also discovered a suggestive letter from Trump dated 2003.
Critics say today, Gabbard’s report is a calculated distraction. The timing, only hours after the WSJ report, raised eyebrows. To many, the spotlight on Obama seems more about a political vendetta than seeking justice.
Trump’s new jabs and Gabbard’s sensational allegations reopened wounds from 2016. But with the Epstein sex scandal engulfing Washington, critics believe a diversion is in play.
