President Trump said it’s “time to go after people” amid National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard’s report about the Obama administration allegedly conspiring against Mr. Trump during the 2016 election.
“The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama absolutely cold — Tulsi Gabbard — what they did to this country in 2016, starting in 2016 but going up all the way to 2020 and the election, and they tried to rig the election and they got caught,” he said in the Oval Office Tuesday while meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
He added, “After what they did to me, whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people.”
Mr. Trump named Mr. Obama, former FBI Director James B. Comey, former CIA Director John O. Brennan and others as people who plotted against him.
“He’s guilty,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Obama. “This was treason.”
Ms. Gabbard said the Obama administration “manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a yearslong coup against President Trump” on the back of the debunked Russian interference allegation.
Mr. Trump’s reaction came after he was asked about the Justice Department reaching out to Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. The president said he didn’t know much about the DOJ move, other than it “sounds appropriate to do.”
“I didn’t know that they were gonna do it. I don’t really follow that too much. It’s sort of a witch hunt,” he said. “Just a continuation of the witch hunt.”
In a statement from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posted by Attorney General Pam Bondi Tuesday, the Justice Department “does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead.”
Mr. Blanche added, “President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.”
He said he anticipates meeting with Maxwell “in the coming days.”
Her attorney, David Oscar Markus, confirmed on X that they are in “discussions with the government.”
