Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

‘Obama Owes Me Big’: Trump Says Former President Likely Immune From Criminal Prosecution For Russiagate

Screenshot/Rumble/Fox News

President Donald Trump said on Friday that former President Barack Obama is likely immune from criminal prosecution for his administration’s alleged plot to subvert Trump’s 2016 election win.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said at a Wednesday White House press briefing that she was referring Obama for criminal charges to the Department of Justice (DOJ) after releasing a declassified file on July 18 that she said contains “overwhelming evidence” that the former president and his national security team “manufactured and politicized intelligence” after Trump’s 2016 victory. However, when a reporter asked Trump at the White House how he believes the Supreme Court’s 2024 presidential immunity ruling would affect Obama in light of the allegations, the president said that it likely protects him.

WATCH:

“It probably helps him a lot. Probably helps him a lot. The immunity ruling. But it doesn’t help the people around him at all,” Trump said. “But it probably helps him a lot. He’s done criminal acts, there’s no question about it. But he has immunity. And it probably helps him a lot.”

“He owes me big,” the president added. “Obama owes me big.”

🚨 Daily Caller White House correspondent @reaganreese_: “The president said yesterday that Obama committed treason. Does the White House believe that the Supreme Court’s immunity decision protects Obama from prosecution?”

LEAVITT: “He [Pres. Trump] wants to see all those who… pic.twitter.com/1bgZ12HIG3

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 23, 2025

The Supreme Court ruled on Trump’s immunity appeal in 2024, finding that presidents possess immunity from criminal prosecution for “official acts” taken in office.

Trump on Tuesday called for his DOJ to target Obama over the documents Gabbard published, alleging the former president was “guilty” of “treason” at an Oval Office press conference.

Following Trump’s remarks, Obama’s spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush responded on Tuesday to the Trump administration’s allegations, calling them “outrageous” and bizarre.”

Obama administration intelligence officials former CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director Director James Comey may have perjured themselves while asserting under oath that the discredited Steele Dossier was not the basis for their 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), a June CIA memo appears to show.

Both former officials repeatedly claimed the 2017 ICA, which found that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered with the 2016 election with “a clear preference” for Trump, was not based on assertions from the infamous dossier. However, their claims seem to be directly refuted by the memo.