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The White House called former President Barack Obama “a classless moron” suffering from “a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome” after Obama launched a thinly-veiled criticism at President Donald Trump by saying a president should not direct the attorney general to prosecute individuals.
“He is a total disgrace for all the division he has sowed upon this country, and history will not judge him well,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said of the former president. “The only special interest guiding the Trump Administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people. Only pathetic trainwrecks like Stephen Colbert would waste their time interviewing one of the worst presidents in history on his failing show.”
Obama made the remark during an interview with “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, who asked what restrictions should be placed on presidential power. Obama’s Tuesday appearance comes during the show’s final weeks.
“The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the Attorney General to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants prosecuted,” Obama said. “The idea is that the attorney general is the people’s lawyer, it’s not the president’s consiglieri.”
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“You can’t have a situation in which whoever’s in charge of the government starts using that to go after the political enemies and reward their friends, right?” Obama continued.
Obama discussed his relationship with Attorney General Eric Holder, who served in his administration for six years. He said he consulted with Holder regularly, but only on “broader policy issues.”
“That’s different than who do you charge, what case do you bring,” Obama said.
Trump supporters on social media criticized Obama’s comments, pointing to previous remarks by Holder describing their close relationship. In a 2013 radio interview with Tom Joyner, Holder described himself as Obama’s “wing-man” when answering a question about his plans to leave the administration.
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“I’m still enjoying what I’m doing, there’s still work to be done. I’m still the President’s wing-man, so I’m there with my boy. So we’ll see,” Holder said.
During Holder’s tenure as attorney general, he was held in contempt by the House for failing to produce documents related to an investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, an operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that led to Mexican drug cartels gaining access to illegal guns. Holder has previously faced scrutiny for opting against seeking criminal prosecution, but he was never accused of pursuing criminal charges on Obama’s behalf.
Obama’s remarks come as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche indicted former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly threatening the president’s life based on an Instagram post showing a seashell formation spelling out “86-47,” a reference to removing Trump from office. The latest charges follow the dismissal of previous charges brought against Comey by the Justice Department last year.
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Aside from Comey, several of Trump’s other political foes have been indicted, including former national security adviser John Bolton and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The Justice Department has also opened criminal investigations into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Trump posted a message on Truth Social in September directly addressed to former Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting that she prosecute several of his political foes.
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done,” Trump wrote. “What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”
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