President Donald Trump has said those involved in promoting what he called the Russia ‘hoax,’ the belief that the Russian state interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to help his campaign, “should pay a price” during a television appearance on Friday.
During the Newsmax interview, Trump singled out former President Barack Obama, whom he described as “more the mastermind,” and Hillary Rodham Clinton, ex-secretary of state and first lady, for what he said was their involvement.
Newsweek contacted the office of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, via the Clinton Foundation, for comment on Saturday by online inquiry form and email respectively outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
Following Trump’s 2016 presidential election victory, allegations emerged that his campaign had been assisted, either with or without their knowledge, by Russian intelligence services. Subsequently, U.S. intelligence chiefs said they believed Russia intervened to “help” Trump and undermine Clinton.
In 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller released a major report that concluded Russian interference in the election took place “in sweeping and systematic fashion,” but “did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired … with the Russian government” in its efforts.
Trump has long described the suggestion that Russia had any influence on the 2016 presidential election as a “hoax.”
What To Know
During Trump’s appearance on Newsmax, a conservative-leaning network, the president said he let Clinton “off the hook” over her supposed role in propagating the theory that Russian interference helped him win the 2016 presidential election.
However, the president went on to say those involved in promoting the theory “hurt a lot of people,” adding: “I think they should pay a price.”
Asked by the Newsmax host whether Obama was personally “involved,” Trump replied: “Totally—he knew about it and then we have it cold; he has it in writing … you could almost say he was more the mastermind. He heard what she [Clinton] was doing and then he approved it, and not only approved it but pushed it. And they knew it was fake. They knew the Russia thing was fake.”
Trump added that it would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi whether to bring indictments over what he termed the Russian interference “hoax.” The president said: “I’m not giving her advice one way or the other.”
Last month, Trump accused Obama of “treason” for what he said was the former president’s role in arguing Russia interfered in the U.S. election. It followed a press release from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. It said Obama’s efforts were part of “what was essentially a yearslong coup with the objective of trying to usurp the president from fulfilling the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people” after the 2016 election.
Obama’s spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush hit back, saying nothing released by the Trump administration “undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”
Rodenbush added: “These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”
What People Are Saying
Referring to Clinton on Newsmax, Trump said: “We had her, and I had her right under the sights, and I told the people, ‘Look, you can’t do this to a president’s wife, an ex-president, and she was secretary of state, but you can’t do this to the wife of a president.’
“And then they went after me and they meant it. And I said, ‘You know, it’s amazing I always felt you shouldn’t be doing this stuff and I let Hillary off the hook, I totally let her off the hook, then I let her off the hook for what and then I come in and they do the same thing to me,” Trump added.
“The difference is they actually meant it, and they hurt a lot of people, and it was all a hoax and now they have it in black and white. No, I think they should pay a price. By the way, it could be the biggest scandal in the history of our country, but it continues onward … that scandal has continued from the beginning. Everything they do is a hoax. They’re no good at anything other than some forms of nasty politics.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether any criminal charges will be brought against Obama, Clinton or figures involved in investigating alleged Russian election interference in 2016.
Any such move would almost certainly spark a furious response from Democrats and civil liberty campaigners.
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