Trump Accuses Obama of Treason Over Probe Into Russia's Role in Polls

Obama Denounces Claims He Led Effort to Undermine 2016 Trump Campaign

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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump accused former president Barack Obama of "treason" on July 22, blaming him without providing evidence of leading an effort to falsely tie him to Russia and undermine his 2016 presidential campaign.

A spokesman for Mr. Obama denounced Mr. Trump's claims, saying, "These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction."

While Mr. Trump has frequently attacked Mr. 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.

During remarks in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump leapt on comments from his intelligence chief, Ms. Tulsi Gabbard, on July 18 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 Mr. Trump.

"It's there, he's guilty. This was treason," Mr. Trump said on July 22, though he offered no proof.

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

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

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