The contents of this article are written with authoritative materials and personal opinions. The source of the literature has been marked at the end of the article, so please know.
An unprecedented investigation into the former president has plunged U.S. politics into an unprecedented whirlwind and has completely broken Washington’s unwritten rule of “do not liquidate its predecessors.”
On July 22, when US President Trump was asked by reporters at the White House about the Epstein case, his sudden speech turned, pointing to former President Obama.He claimed that the intelligence department disclosed “the Obama administration had counterfeited ordinary Russian materials” and asked the Justice Department to directly investigate Obama.
"This is treason... they are trying to steal the election," Trump said, who also described Democrats such as Biden and Hillary as "gangs" that rigged the election.
Just the day after Trump’s statement, on July 23, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the creation of a special working group to conduct a preliminary assessment of Trump’s allegations of “Obama’s betrayal” and related declassified intelligence.
Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed federal prosecutors to initiate a grand jury investigation procedure to collect evidence on whether former President Obama administration officials falsified information about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The core of the wave comes from a heavily declassified report released by National Intelligence Director Turkey Gabard on July 18. The 128-page document shows that in the months leading up to the November 2016 presidential election, the U.S. intelligence community had reached a consensus that Russia had no intention or ability to interfere in the election.
However, after Trump's unexpected victory, the situation changed dramatically. Obama convened a meeting of a national security team comprising several senior officials to rewrite the report, adding to the content of "Russia interfering with elections".
Gabard’s report noted in particular that the Obama team deliberately amplified unreliable information. The file, funded by Hillary’s campaign team, is filled with unconfirmed rumors that Trump has been taken over by Russia, despite the information being later confirmed to be false.
Trump showed great enthusiasm for Gabard’s report.He even posted on social media an AI-generated video showing images of Obama being arrested wearing a bracelet, and the background music was Trump’s campaign theme song “YMCA.”
During a joint meeting with Philippine President Marcos on July 22, Trump reiterated that “everything was initiated by Obama” and called for a lawsuit against Obama.He called Obama the "mastermind" and Hillary Clinton, Biden and others "accomplices", saying that this "gang" also included former FBI Director Komi, former National Intelligence Director clapper and others.
Faced with these serious accusations, the Obama Office issued a statement later on July 22. The statement said the Obama office would not normally respond to “the continuous flow of nonsense and false information from the White House” because of respect for the presidential post.
But this accusation is absurd and ridiculous, and it is just a "bad trick to shift the line of sight."
The Obama office also stressed that in documents released earlier by the U.S. intelligence service, Nothing can weaken the conclusion that "Russia tried to influence the 2016 general election but failed to manipulate votes".
Despite Trump’s frequent use of the accusation of “crime of treason,” legal experts point out that the definition of “treason” is extremely strict in the U.S. Constitution. Article 3 of the Constitution defines treason as “the deployment of war against the United States or attachment to the enemy, and the provision of assistance and support to the enemy.”
Legal experts believe that even if the allegations are true, Obama’s actions are more likely to constitute “abuse of power” or “crime of conspiracy” than strictly defined “crimes of treason” in the constitution.
In the history of the United States, although there have been 40 prosecutions for treason, there have been only five convictions, and none of them have been sentenced to death.
Several analysts pointed out that Trump’s reference to Obama’s investigation at this time was not a coincidence. With the continuous explosion of Musk and others, Trump’s name appeared on the notorious customer list of Epstein’s case, and there were even rumors that some “outdoors” letters pointed to him.
Faced with these allegations, Trump is extremely angry and is fighting back by filing a lawsuit. At the same time, he urgently needs a bigger incident to divert public attention.Nothing is more powerful than "ex-president treason".
The incident once again highlighted the polarization of U.S. politics. Republican Senators Lindsay Graham and John Cohen called on Attorney General Bondy to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate what they call the Obama administration’s “unprecedented and obvious abuse of power.”
Democrats collectively defended Obama. Jim Hymes, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Gabbard's report "political manipulation" and believed it contradicted past censorship opinions.
It is worth noting that the previous intelligence assessment was bipartisan confirmed by the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2020. The report believes that Russia did attempt to interfere in the election, although these interventions did not change the outcome of the vote.
Any action to prosecute Obama could be blocked by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year.The ruling gives the president extensive immunity from criminal prosecution for acts committed during the performance of his presidency.
The ruling was widely regarded in favor of Trump at the time, who faces a criminal investigation for what he did during his first presidential term, including improper handling of classified documents.
Ironically, this ruling may now become a stumbling block to Trump's claim that he wants to "punish" his political opponents.
The most important consequences of this investigation, It may have broken an unwritten rule in American politics, not liquidating its predecessor.Once Pandora's box is opened, it can never be closed again. Today's hunter may become tomorrow's prey at any time.
It degraded the political “game” completely into “war”.In the end, this war, launched by the arsenal of sophisticated weapons, no matter who temporarily leads tactically, could hide its strategic failure.It made the already torn society even more opposite, turning political debate into a street blasphemy.
In the Justice Department building, prosecutors are well aware that the threshold of treason is extremely high, and they must prove that Obama "openly provided assistance to the enemy".
Whether the revision of an internal report counts as aid is still an open question.
References:
1. "Things have changed again, Trump said he hopes to disclose all documents of the Epstein case" 2025-08-02 13:17 | Source: Shangguan
Trump’s Accusations: Obama’s “Tradition” 2025-07-23 21:45 PM Source: Global Times
British Media: U.S. Justice Department to set up a “strike group” to investigate Obama 2025-07-26 13:39 PM Source: Reference News