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Donald Trump has asked that Barack Obama be brought before Congress and that his predecessor’s officials be “jailed for 50 years.”
The President of the United States defined as “Obamagate” an episode involving the “unmasking” of his first national security adviser Michael Flynn after his name appeared in redacted form in intelligence reports related to Russia.
He claims that, during the presidential transition period in late 2016, the Obama administration abused its power for political reasons by attacking Flynn.
Trump seemed willing to make it a problem in the upcoming election campaign.
He told Fox Business that senior Obama officials should “have been in jail a long time ago, and I am speaking with 50-year sentences. It is a shame what happened. This is the biggest political scam, deception in the history of our country.”
The president added: “People should go to jail for these things, and hopefully a lot of people will have to pay.”
Trump also urged Lindsey Graham, the Republican chair of the Senate judicial committee, with whom he plays golf, to call Obama to present evidence.
He told Fox Business: “The President knew everything. President Obama and Vice President Biden knew everything.”
The names of Americans collected in the American surveillance of foreigners are routinely hidden in intelligence reports they describe.
American officials must make a specific request if they want to know the identity of the American person, a process known as “unmasking.”
Richard Grenell, Trump’s acting director of national intelligence, recently declassified a list of Obama officials who requested the unmasking of an individual, who turned out to be Flynn.
The list included Joe Biden, who was Obama’s vice president, FBI director James Comey, and Samantha Power, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations.
“He was one of the unmaskers,” Trump said, referring to Biden.
Mr. Flynn had been detained under surveillance by the Russian ambassador, and was later prosecuted for lying to the FBI about his connections to the ambassador. He pleaded guilty.
In the past few days, the justice department has withdrawn the case against Mr. Flynn.
Obama said the decision showed that “the rule of law is at risk.”
Trump supporters have embraced the “Obamagate” theory as a rallying cry.
Retired Admiral Ronny Jackson, who served as both a White House doctor for both Obama and Trump, said: “President Obama has armed the highest levels of our government to spy on President Trump.
“Every Deep State traitor deserves to be brought to justice for his heinous actions.”
A Biden campaign spokesperson said: “All normal procedures were followed. Any suggestion to the contrary is a resounding lie.”
Biden and the other Obama administration officials had the authority to seek the unmasking of an unidentified American in the intelligence reports, and it turned out to be Flynn.
Critics have accused Trump of trying to distract himself from the coronavirus crisis and spiraling unemployment.
But Trump wrote on Twitter: “If I was a senator or a congressman, the first person I would call to testify about the biggest political crime and scandal in US history, by FAR, is former President Obama. He knew EVERYTHING. No more, nice sir, no more words!
Graham said he would not call Obama.
He said, “I don’t think this is the time to do that. I don’t know if that is possible. I understand President Trump’s frustration, but be careful what you wish for.”
Graham said that both Trump and Obama were “welcome to come before the committee and share their mutual concerns. Otherwise it would be great television.”
