Trump Says the Government Should Investigate Obama’s Netflix Deal

The House Judiciary Committee is investigating Trump. He wants it to investigate Obama instead.

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The House Judiciary Committee moved closer to opening impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump last week. But what really deserves investigation, according to Trump, is Barack Obama’s Netflix deal.

The president fired off an early morning tweet storm Monday, repeating his rallying cry that former special counsel Robert Mueller found “ZERO COLLUSION, ZERO OBSTRUCTION” and directing his anger at his predecessor’s book and film deals.

After leaving office, Barack and Michelle Obama reportedly signed a $65 million book deal, as well as a “high 8-figure” deal with Netflix to produce films and series. It’s unclear why Trump thinks that the Obamas’ post-White House endeavors are worth investigating, or what crime he is implying they have committed.

Trump’s accusations against Obama are nothing new. Trump was an active participant in the “birther” movement, steadfastly accusing Obama of having been born outside the United States. It wasn’t until 2016—when Trump was running for president—that he conceded that Obama was born in Hawaii.

In this case, Trump’s attempt to deflect attention away from himself ended in total incoherence. “I am far beyond somebody paying for a hotel room for the evening, or filling up a gas tank at an airport I do not own,” he wrote. “These Radical Left Democrats are CRAZY! Obama Netflix?”

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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