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Donald Trump has augmented his “Obamagate” conspiracy theory to implicate Joe Biden and other former White House officials in what critics say is a desperate attempt to distract himself from the coronavirus pandemic.
Ric Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, sent a high-ranking list to Congress on Wednesday. Members of the Obama administration he alleged were involved in the “unmasking” of retired General Michael Flynn, in intelligence reports dating back to the presidential transition.
Barack Obama staff alumni took a short step to the measure.
“Sideshow to distract yourself from shit,” tweeted David Plouffe, a former Obama campaign manager.
“Rather talk about unmasking than masks,” said Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the justice department.
Trump’s aggressive tactic appears to deepen fears that he will stop at nothing to harm Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, the alleged Democratic presidential candidate.
It also provides a counter-narrative to criticism of Trump’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 80,000 in the United States. Fox News and Fox Business have mentioned Flynn and the FBI more frequently than the virus in recent days, according to data compiled by the Internet Archive and analyzed by GDELT.
Grenell, a Trump ally, declassified and sent the list of names to Republican senators.
“I am providing a revised list of the identities of the officials who submitted requests to the National Security Agency at any time between November 8, 2016 and January 31, 2017 to unmask the identity of the former national security adviser, Lt. General Michael T. Flynn, “read a memorandum from General Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency, released by Grenell.
Unmasking is a routine practice used to identify a person named anonymously in an intelligence document. It is carried out hundreds of times a year, without controversy.
Flynn was under scrutiny due to his conversations with the Russian ambassador about the sanctions.
The list of officials released by Grenell includes former Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, and former CIA Director John Brennan. The last name on the list, as of January 12, 2017, is Biden.
The Trump campaign took advantage of the document. Brad Parscale, his campaign manager, said: “We already knew that Biden was briefed on the Flynn case before President Trump took office, and now we know he wanted Flynn to be unmasked. Americans have a right to know the depth of Biden’s involvement in shaping the Gen Flynn to promote Russia’s collusion deception. “
Republicans demanded more investigation. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said: “The Obama administration’s unmasking of General Flynn regarding the talks during the presidential transition [is] deeply troubling and smells[s] of politics, not national security. “
He added: “I want to know specifically how many, if any, unmasking requests were made beyond Gen Flynn with respect to Trump campaign team members, family or associates.”
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said: “I am very disturbed by the shocking information my office received today that gives a window into possible political decision-motivated abuses of power …
“I ask the Senate to hold hearings immediately. Clapper, Comey, Brennan, and even Joe Biden owe it to the American people. They should testify under oath.
Trump himself has struggled to articulate his “Obamagate” conspiracy theory. Essentially, he contends that Obama, Biden, Clapper, Comey and others conspired against Trump by fabricating a false accusation that he colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. Among those he claims were “framed” is Flynn.
Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about discussing sanctions with the Russian ambassador between the elections and Trump’s inauguration. He was fired as a national security adviser for lying to Vice President Mike Pence.
But Trump and his allies have seized the disclosed FBI documents. A handwritten note from the then FBI director of counterintelligence read: “What is our goal? Truth / Admission or make him lie so we can prosecute or fire him?
Last week, the justice department said it would seek to drop the charges against Flynn, claiming that the FBI did not have sufficient grounds to interview him and that any flawed statement he made was not material to the broader counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign.
The decision prompted Obama to warn that the “rule of law is at risk,” in a leaked tape that may partly explain Trump’s current crusade.
In a statement, a Biden spokesman, Andrew Bates, said: “Donald Trump’s attempt at dishonest media manipulation to distract himself from his response to the worst public health crisis in 100 years has failed.”
“These documents simply indicate the breadth and depth of concern across the US government, including among career officials, about intelligence reports of Michael Flynn’s attempts to undermine … national security policy.”
Bates accused Republicans of “abusing their powers in Congress to act as weapons of the Trump campaign after having [documents] provided by a partisan officer installed for this same purpose. “
While the investigation into the links between Moscow and the Trump campaign began under Obama, special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed by Rod Rosenstein, Trump’s own deputy attorney general. While he did not establish a conspiracy, Mueller found evidence of numerous contacts between the campaign and Russia and did not exonerate Trump.
There is no evidence to support Trump’s claim that Obama and the FBI attempted to take him down. The president’s allies have struggled to explain why the FBI reopened a damaging investigation into his opponent Hillary Clinton just before the election.
However, Trump has spent the past few days pressing the word “OBAMAGAR” and describing it as “the greatest political crime in the history of the United States. “
When asked by a Washington Post journalist on Monday to define the exact crime of his predecessor, he replied: “You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everyone. All you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours. .
David frum, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, tweeted: “‘ Obama-gate “is basically Al Capone trying to charge the IRS with tax evasion.”
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