Obama Colluded Surveillance State Trump OpEd
- presidential election, dubbed "Russiagate," has long dominated political discourse.
- The origins of this campaign can be traced back to the 2016 election cycle, when Hillary Clinton repeatedly characterized Donald Trump as "putin's puppet," predicting a celebratory atmosphere...
- The coordinated effort to discredit Trump began in earnest on January 5, 2017, just weeks before Trump's inauguration.
The Unraveling of Russiagate: A Reckoning Long Overdue
Table of Contents
Published August 22, 2025
The Seeds of Disinformation
The narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, dubbed “Russiagate,” has long dominated political discourse. However, mounting evidence suggests the scandal was not a case of foreign interference, but rather a purposeful effort by elements within the U.S.government to undermine the incoming Trump administration. As former President Trump himself has asserted, and as is becoming increasingly clear, “Obamagate” – the alleged abuse of power by the Obama administration – is demonstrably real.
The origins of this campaign can be traced back to the 2016 election cycle, when Hillary Clinton repeatedly characterized Donald Trump as “putin’s puppet,” predicting a celebratory atmosphere in Moscow should he win. This rhetoric, though, masked the fact that Clinton’s campaign initiated the effort to link trump to Russia, enlisting the aid of the Democratic national Commitee and intelligence agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Despite Clinton’s loss, the Russiagate narrative persisted, gaining momentum after Barack Obama assumed office following Trump’s election.
The January 5th Meeting and the Targeting of Flynn
The coordinated effort to discredit Trump began in earnest on January 5, 2017, just weeks before Trump’s inauguration. President obama convened a meeting with key intelligence and political figures, including Vice President Joe Biden, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey, UN Ambassador Samantha Power, and National Security Advisor susan Rice. A central topic of discussion was Michael Flynn, Trump’s incoming National Security Advisor, who had previously served as Obama’s Director of Defense Intelligence but was reportedly ousted in 2014 for disagreements over Syria policy.
Prior to this meeting,in December 2016,Flynn engaged in conversations with Russia’s ambassador,Sergei Kislyak,at Israel’s request.The context was an upcoming united Nations Security Council vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlements. Flynn advised against escalating tensions with Russia, but these conversations were monitored and used as leverage by the outgoing Obama administration and, afterward, by Comey’s FBI.
Entrapment and the Mueller Inquiry
After his inauguration, Trump appointed flynn as National Security Advisor. Though, Comey orchestrated a deliberate trap, sending FBI agents to interview Flynn without informing him he was a target of investigation. Comey simultaneously leaked to the Washington Post that Flynn was not under scrutiny, a calculated move to lower his guard. Flynn, believing he was not a target, met with the agents without legal counsel. He was subsequently accused of lying to federal agents, forced to resign, and his son faced threats of prosecution, ultimately leading to Flynn’s guilty plea on a charge of lying to the FBI – a case widely seen as politically motivated.
Trump’s subsequent firing of Comey led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel. Despite a two-year investigation costing millions of dollars, the Mueller report failed to establish any evidence of criminal collusion between the Trump campaign and