GOP Senator Claims Obama Could Face Charges Despite Trump Immunity Ruling

Donald Trump and his team have long pushed the baseless idea that Barack Obama committed crimes by allowing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Even Trump himself has admitted Obama is unlikely to face charges, pointing to the very Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity that Trump secured, which protects presidents from prosecution over “official acts” carried out in office.

But Missouri senator Eric Schmitt isn’t ready to drop the fantasy. Speaking on the right-wing Chris Salcedo Show, Schmitt argued there could still be a way to indict Obama. “I have an op-ed out, actually, today, for articulating the path to indictments here,” Schmitt said. “That’s what has to happen. There has to be justice served here. And, you know, Obama might be able to survive, ironically, because of the presidential immunity case that President Trump won a year ago, at least while he was in office. Now, I don’t know if he took actions when he was out of office or not that further the conspiracy or not.”

Schmitt also suggested that the statute of limitations might not be a barrier if prosecutors framed it as part of an “ongoing conspiracy.” He name-checked former intelligence officials James Clapper, James Comey and John Brennan, saying, “I think this is the route forward and I think there should be indictments.”

It’s not the first time Trump’s orbit has levelled these claims. His Director of National Intelligence has gone as far as to allege Obama committed “treason” over the Russia probe. That investigation concluded, with broad evidence and testimony, that Russian operatives had interfered in the 2016 race to help Trump win. Trump has spent years falsely branding it all a “hoax” despite it being backed up repeatedly, including by his own public statements at the time.

The supposed crime at the heart of these accusations remains vague, even among right-wing commentators pushing the theory. Tulsi Gabbard, now serving as Director of National Intelligence, has floated the idea that Obama directly interfered with intelligence agencies’ assessment of Russia’s actions. Analysts, however, point out that this simply did not happen.

For now, the accusations appear to be more about keeping the narrative alive than laying out any clear legal path. Trump’s allies have seized on the immunity ruling he won to shield himself as president, but some are now twisting it into a potential loophole to drag his predecessor into legal jeopardy. Legal experts say there is no basis for it.

What’s left is another political talking point, with Schmitt and others pitching theories of indictments that would never hold up in court. Even Trump, usually quick to embrace the idea of punishing Obama, has admitted it’s not realistic. Still, the rhetoric keeps circling on right-wing media, where the idea of Obama facing charges remains a popular fantasy.