Joe Biden's presidential campaign is ratcheting up its attacks against President Trump and allies pushing Obamagate in the aftermath of the revelation that multiple officials sought to "unmask" Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn during the transition. Former UN Ambassador Samantha Power, CIA Director John Brennan, and Biden were among the group.
MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin set up the question to campaign adviser Symone Sanders by asking, "[Trump] continues to push this false Obamagate narrative. How hard is it for you to respond to these constant streams of false allegations that are being put forward against Joe Biden? How do you campaign against that when so many of his voters and supporters believe that narrative of just constant false stream of information?"
"Well, first of all, we tell the truth, and then we look to the media also, to tell the truth as well. And the truth is, this is a conspiracy theory, another conspiracy theory that Donald Trump and his allies have cooked up because they see what we see, and that’s Donald Trump has botched his handling of the coronavirus pandemic," Sanders replied.
"He did not cause the coronavirus, but his lack of urgency and acting early on when it could have made a difference for millions of Americans across this country has helped — has created an economic crisis. This was a public health crisis that gave birth to an economic crisis. That’s the cost of complacency from Donald Trump," she continued. "I read the news just like everybody else. I know President Trump reads the news and he knows he’s not doing too well. We’ll continue to talk about the issues. But to be clear, this Obamagate is a lie."
Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell declassified the list of Obama administration officials last week and it was published by Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson.
Some of the names on the list include:
- Vice President Joe Biden - One request January 12, 2017
- FBI Director James Comey - One request December 15, 2016
- Director of National Intelligence James Clapper - Three requests
- CIA Director John Brennan - Two requests - December 14-15, 2016
- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power - Seven requests: November 30, 2016 -December 2, 7, 14, 23, 2016, January 11, 2017
- Obama Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough - One request January 5, 2017
- Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration Michael Dempsey - One request January 7, 2017
- U.S Ambassador to Russia John Tefft - December 16, 2016
- U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ambassador Barr - December 28, 2016
- Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew - Two requests December 14, 2016, and January 12, 2017
- Acting Assistant Secretary Treasury Arthur McGlynn December 14, 2016
- Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Stephanie O'Sullivan - One request January 7, 2017
