Trump's treason claim further erodes political discourse, experts say

President Donald Trump doubled down this week on an accusation that former President Barack Obama and members of his administration committed treason by misleading the public about Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

While even Trump acknowledged that such a prosecution is unlikely, political analysts say the president’s explosive rhetoric further erodes political discourse.

“When the president of the United States accuses someone of treason, that is a bell that cannot be unrung,” said Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University. “It is one of the most serious crimes that can be committed in America. It doesn’t matter if there is no evidence of treason. He is using the largest weapon in his arsenal to silence his critics.”

Trump made his latest comments Tuesday during an interview with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine on the podcast “Pod Force One.” Those followed his original accusations July 22.

“Obama, what he did was terrible,” Trump told Devine. He name-dropped former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former FBI Director James Comey, saying what they “did … (was) so unnecessary,” without offering specifics.

“They did a lot of bad things. I mean, I would say it was treason,” Trump said. “They made up all these stories, just fake stories, and, yeah, I would say it was serious treason and hurt the country and put the country in danger.”

“This was an attempted coup, a failed coup,” Trump said, calling Obama the “ringleader.”

Trump’s comments echoed ones he made the previous week following the release of related reports from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Gabbard’s reports downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The reports highlighted Obama administration emails showing officials concluded before and after the presidential race that Moscow had not hacked state election systems to manipulate votes in Trump’s favor.

Obama’s Democratic administration never suggested otherwise. Investigations showed Russia used other means to interfere in the election, including a massive hack-and-leak operation of Democratic emails by intelligence operatives working with WikiLeaks and a covert influence campaign aimed at swaying public opinion and sowing discord through fake social media posts.

In response to Trump’s allegations, Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said, “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” alluding to speculation from Trump critics that he is using this issue to divert attention away from the Jeffrey Epstein case.

“I don’t want to say it’s just a distraction. This is very serious. All (Trump) has to do is decide to make this an issue, and it’s going to go from distraction to reality very fast,” said Paul Elliott Johnson, associate professor of communications at the University of Pittsburgh.

He likened Trump’s use of the terms “treason” and “coup” to “floating trial balloons for political prosecutions,” saying it “gets the narrative going.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi has appointed a “strike force” to assess the information from Gabbard’s office and investigate potential next steps. U.S. Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both Republicans, also called on Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate. None of those officials invoked the term “treason” in public comments.

With regard to Trump’s use of the word, Shippensburg’s Dagnes said, “In the attention economy, we’ve run out of bad words. Nothing is shocking anymore. In order to be heard over the din, you have to say something massive.”

“I know he’s trying to get attention,” she added, “but he’s also doing tremendous damage to political discourse and taking away from the severity of what treason actually is.”

In defining treason, the U.S. Constitution says, “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or (be) imprisoned and fined, and incapable of holding any U.S. office.”

The latter part — adhering to enemies of the United States — is open to interpretation, but a legal analysis by the Los Angeles law firm Eisner Gorin said it can include “things like providing financial support or giving sensitive information to a country that is at war with the U.S.”

It’s been more than seven decades since anyone has been convicted of treason against the United States.

In the podcast interview, Trump acknowledged that any prosecution of Obama would be unlikely. Devine told the president that Obama “should be thanking you,” alluding to the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Trump v. the United States that presidents could not be prosecuted for official actions taken while in office.

“He’s probably covered by that. It’s OK, it’s all right. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, I guess,” Trump said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.