Florida Republicans loyal to Donald Trump demand investigation, arrest of Barack Obama

Florida lawmakers loyal to President Donald Trump want the Justice Department to investigate — or even arrest — former President Barack Obama.

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, an Atlantic Coast Republican, took to social media to call for the Democratic President’s arrest.

“All criminals should be arrested. Obama is no different,” Fine posted. “He once said no one is above the law. If he truly believes that then let justice be served.”

The comments came after Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, released a report suggesting Obama pushed intelligence agencies to accuse Russia of meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election without evidence. That prompted the Justice Department to assign a task force to look at the allegations, according to The New York Times.

Trump has alleged that Obama committed “treason.” Obama’s office released a statement pushing back on the allegation.

“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,” the statement reads.

“Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”

That’s true. Rubio, a Miami Republican and Florida’s senior Senator at the time, signed off on a Senate Intelligence Committee report that backed up findings that Russia was trying to influence the U.S. election and favored Trump.

The report did also heavily criticize the FBI for treating seriously allegations in a memo produced by former British intelligence spy Christopher Steele, at the behest of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign, that alleged that Trump colluded with Russia.

“We can say, without any hesitation, that the Committee found absolutely no evidence that then-candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election,” Rubio, now Trump’s Secretary of State, said in a video statement in 2020.

“What the Committee did find however is very troubling. We found irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling. And we discovered deeply troubling actions taken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, particularly their acceptance and willingness to rely on the ‘Steele Dossier’ without verifying its methodology or sourcing.”

But some Republicans now representing Florida in Congress are jumping on Gabbard’s findings.

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican and candidate for Governor, said he didn’t buy Obama’s response.

“1–Barack Obama’s statement is flimsy at best,” he posted. “2–Obama’s admin used fake intel to concoct a multi-year lawfare coup & derail the Trump presidency. 3–They did this because they couldn’t stand an outsider who put the American People First. 4–There must be further FBI-DOJ action.”

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, also criticized Obama.

“When there’s smoke, there’s fire,” he posted. “The most powerful Democrat in the world stood to lose more than anyone else with a 2016 Trump Presidency. Obama built eight years of infrastructure he was willing to do anything to protect. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, also issued a lengthy thread on Gabbard’s report and said the Justice department should consider charges.

“This report proves that Russiagate was nothing more than a conspiracy by Obama administration officials to weaponize the intelligence community against the incoming president. All they had were lies and falsehoods,” Steube posted. “And they still tried to take down President Trump. The DOJ must investigate and prosecute all those responsible for this brazen coup attempt against President Trump.”

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, asked on Fox News about the issue, said he wants to see what further investigation finds.

“Is anybody surprised that Obama and (Joe) Biden and the people around them were trying to destroy Trump forever?” Scott said. “I’m not surprised. What’s surprising is that finally we’re going to hold them accountable. So what I hope is that all the facts come out. The truth is completely exposed, and if anybody did anything wrong, they are held accountable. That’s what needs to happen.”

But the Senator also stopped short of a demand for arrests.

“Instead of the way they’ve treated Trump, why don’t we get the facts out first and find out what exactly what people did?” Scott said. “If somebody did something wrong, they’re held accountable.”

Of note, Trump endorsed Fine and Patronis in recent Special Elections where both won their seats in Congress. Trump has also publicly backed Donalds’ campaign for Governor. He was reportedly considering Steube for a role in his administration earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Democrats from Florida waved off any seriousness behind Trump’s assertions about his predecessor in office.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Parkland Democrat, scoffed at the suggestion that an investigation would result in what Republicans want.

“Obama is not going to be arrested,” he posted.