NEWS: Did Trump just issue a death threat against Obama?

Why a sitting president’s accusation of “treason” against his predecessor is so dangerous.

Bottom Line Up Front:

In an unhinged Oval Office rant yesterday, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of “treason,” a crime punishable by death under U.S. law. This is not a throwaway insult. It’s the President of the United States leveling the most serious criminal charge in the Constitution at his predecessor, in front of the world.

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WHAT HAPPENED

During an Oval Office meeting with a foreign leader, Trump was asked about a dubious criminal referral submitted by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, alleging “treasonous” conduct by Obama-era officials related to the 2016 election and Russian interference. Instead of deflecting, Trump went all in:

“It would be President Obama. He started it… The leader of the gang was President Obama, Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him?…They’re guilty. It’s not a question. This was treason — every word you can think of.”

Obama’s office, in a rare rebuke, responded that Trump’s claims were “bizarre,” “ridiculous,” and a “weak attempt at distraction.” The bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee has repeatedly debunked the idea that Obama or his administration tampered with vote outcomes and confirmed that Russia’s 2016 interference did not change votes.

Even Trump’s own Justice Department (under Bill Barr) never charged anyone with something as outlandish as “treason” over the Russia investigation. But that didn’t stop Trump from doubling down.

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WHAT IT MEANS

Treason is the most serious crime in American law, defined narrowly as “levying war” against the United States or “adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” Once again, it carries a potential death sentence. The Founders made it hard to prove for a reason in order to prevent it from being weaponized by those in power.

Now Trump is weaponizing it anyway. By my count, he’s already accused the following people of such a high crime: former U.S. President Barack Obama; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former FBI Director James Comey; former CIA Director John Brennan; former FBI agents Peter Strzok & Lisa Page; former Congresswoman Liz Cheney; and former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor. (Yes, me, which is why this newsletter has the title that it has.)

In each case, Trump’s intent is clear. He seeks to criminalize dissent and rally the mob against his enemies, which is why we cannot treat this as mere politics.

These are not just words. They are orders. When Trump accuses someone of treasonous conduct, he goes far beyond vilifying them. He gives his agencies implicit direction to investigate those people, and he gives his followers license to threaten or attack. The consequence is real-world fear, surveillance, and violent threats.

I would know. In the past few weeks alone, I’ve spent hours and hours with lawyers and in legal proceedings defending against MAGA types who’ve threatened my family. Why? Because Trump labeled me a traitor.

I spoke about it last night on MSNBC’s Deadline White House with Nicolle Wallace.

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WHAT’S NEXT

If this is how Trump’s threats have impacted my family, imagine what it means when he says the same thing about a former president. Already he’s demanded DOJ action against Obama and others. Tulsi Gabbard’s criminal referral is an opening salvo for investigations that will harass and attempt to jail political enemies.

And as history shows, once a strongman labels someone a traitor, violence isn’t far behind. We’ve seen far too many near-miss assassination attempts against top officials (including Trump himself, I might add) which makes his comments all-the-more-reckless in the current environment.

This is how our democracy slides into something unrecognizable: with a gold-trimmed Oval Office and a smirk, a president accuses his predecessor of treason — a crime punishable by death — and dares the system to stop him.

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