Trump Baselessly Accuses Obama of ‘Treason’ as Questions Swirl About Epstein

President Trump, under fire over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files, escalated his distract-and-deflect strategy on Tuesday, accusing former President Barack Obama of treason and declaring, “It’s time to go after people.”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump condemned questions about the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as “sort of a witch hunt,” and then launched into a rant against a now-familiar string of rivals and the media.

“The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama,” Mr. Trump said, referring to a report from Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, that tried to undermine the eight-year-old assessment that Russia favored his election in 2016.

“Obama was trying to lead a coup,” Mr. Trump said. “And it was with Hillary Clinton.”

Mr. Trump’s extended digression, which came during a visit with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines, was a stark example of his campaign of retribution against an ever-growing list of enemies that has little analogue in American history.

It even prompted a rare response from Mr. Obama’s office.

“These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” said Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesman for Mr. Obama. “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.”

Ms. Gabbard’s report, which claimed there was a “treasonous conspiracy” by top Obama officials, contradicted a lengthy study by the Senate Intelligence Committee that was signed by all Republican members of the committee, including Marco Rubio, now the secretary of state.