Barack Obama again targeted by the White House (and Donald Trump), facing a relentless Epstein controversy

"The stated intent and what followed can only be described as a multi-year coup and a treasonous plot against the American people, our Republic, and an attempt to undermine the administration of President Trump," said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard during a briefing at the White House.

The former Democratic congresswoman, who has rallied behind the Republican president, published a report on Friday in which Barack Obama was implicated in the accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries denounced the Republicans' stance.

"When you have nothing concrete to present to the American people, the Republicans blame Barack Obama. It's ridiculous," he told reporters on Wednesday.

Annoyed

Because these repeated accusations against the former Democratic president (2009-2017) come at a time when Donald Trump is trying to put out the fire surrounding the Epstein affair, a wealthy financier who died in prison in 2019 before his trial for sex crimes.

Anger has been brewing for several weeks within a section of the Republican president's "MAGA" base, which does not accept the conclusions of a memorandum published in early July by his administration, according to which Jeffrey Epstein had indeed died of suicide, and did not keep a client list for his alleged sex trafficking network.

These Donald Trump supporters are now accusing him of going back on his campaign promises by showing a lack of transparency.

The president was openly annoyed by this, calling these supporters "stupid."

Asked about the affair, he also assured Tuesday that he "wasn't following it very closely." Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he then launched into a virulent diatribe against Barack Obama, whom he described as a "gang leader" guilty of "treason."

A longtime rival, the first Black president in US history is a prime target for the Republican billionaire in his bid to get his base to move on from the Epstein issue.

This "distraction" strategy is based on the fact that "MAGA supporters like to defend their president when they believe he is a victim," Todd Belt, a political science professor at George Washington University, told AFP.

The relationship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, both figures of the New York jet set in the 1990s and 2000s, was shed new light last week with the publication in the Wall Street Journal of an article attributing to the real estate mogul a salacious letter addressed to the latter in 2003.

Congress paralyzed

Attacked for defamation by Donald Trump, the New York daily published new revelations on Wednesday.

According to the WSJ, the president was warned in May by his Attorney General, Pam Bondi, that his name appeared repeatedly in the Epstein case files, alongside those of other high-profile figures.

The newspaper clarified that "being mentioned in these documents is not a sign of reprehensible behavior."

"This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news fabricated by Democrats and left-wing media, just like Obama's Russiagate scandal," White House communications director Steven Cheung said, referring to suspicions of collusion between Moscow and Donald Trump in 2016.

Not far from the White House, the Epstein controversy continues to paralyze the US House of Representatives.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who has already clashed with the Trump administration on several issues in recent months, wants to force a vote on a resolution calling for the release of court documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is blocking any vote on the resolution, saying unfiltered publication would endanger victims of Epstein's alleged crimes.

With this blockade imposed by the "speaker", the work of the deputies, who will leave for vacation a day earlier, starting Wednesday evening, has been at a standstill for several days.