Senator Ted Cruz has acknowledged that former President Barack Obama will not face prosecution for treason, despite months of inflammatory rhetoric from the Trump administration and its allies attempting to link him to a so-called conspiracy regarding the 2016 election.
During an appearance Wednesday on The Ingraham Angle, Cruz responded to growing speculation fueled by Trump loyalists and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who recently accused Obama of orchestrating a “treasonous conspiracy” and a “years-long coup” against Donald Trump.
The accusations stem from Obama-era intelligence assessments regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Gabbard has claimed that the former president and his administration weaponized intelligence to undermine Trump’s electoral victory—charges critics have widely dismissed as unfounded.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham addressed the legal improbability of such claims on air, citing the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former presidents enjoy immunity for “official acts” conducted while in office. “He’s not going to be prosecuted for treason,” Ingraham stated.
Cruz, while initially echoing the sentiment, hedged his response slightly: “He’s not going to be prosecuted, in all likelihood, for treason.” Still, the Texas senator insisted that members of the Obama administration could face “criminal liability” for allegedly lying under oath or “fabricating evidence,” although no such proof has been produced publicly. To date, the Trump administration has not provided any verified documentation showing illegal behavior by Obama-era officials.
The basis of Gabbard’s claims runs counter to the findings of the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report released in 2020. That report concluded that Russia had “engaged in an aggressive, multi-faceted effort to influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election” in Trump’s favor.
Gabbard, however, pointed to the fact that Russia did not successfully hack voting machines as evidence that the interference claims were exaggerated, calling the entire Russia investigation a “hoax.” She has stated that she is turning over documents to the Department of Justice and suggested indictments could be forthcoming.
Former President Obama responded through a spokesperson in a rare statement on Wednesday, dismissing the claims entirely. “The bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” the statement read. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”
The renewed attacks on Obama appear to coincide with mounting frustration from Trump supporters over the administration’s failure to deliver conclusive evidence in the Jeffrey Epstein case, leaving some critics to suggest that the Obama accusations are little more than political theater.