Barack Obama Says His Administration ‘Maintained Integrity,’ Achieved Power ‘Without Corruption’
In the wake of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections, and his recent press conference addressing the findings, former U.S. President Barack Obama used his appearance at the VTEX DAY 2019 conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday to address his two-term White House administration.
Newsweek reports that although Obama didn’t mention President Donald Trump by name, he appeared to rebuke the president’s administration, which has been steeped in controversy since its inception, by comparing it unfavorably to his own.
“Nobody was jailed. We made mistakes. We were not perfect. But we maintained integrity and we were able to show that it is possible to achieve great power without corruption.”
Trump’s campaign promised to “drain the swamp,” and painted himself as a cleanup man that would rid Washington of corruption. But Trump has been plagued by accusations of corruption, and numerous Trump administration officials have been charged with crimes.
Obama also used his appearance to slam U.S. gun laws, claiming that they “don’t make much sense” and suggesting that anybody can buy one whenever they want. Fox News reports that his comments drew public criticism, as many pointed out that there are approximately 300 federal and state gun laws that regulate sales.
Obama says his administration shows it’s “possible to achieve great power without corruption” https://t.co/hcezg5ciDT
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 31, 2019
Trump’s actions outlined in the Mueller report have caused many Democrats — and one Republican, Justin Amash — to call for his impeachment.
But not everybody is on-board. Democrat Debbie Dingell — a representative from Michigan, the same state as Amash — believes that impeaching Trump would “play into Russia’s hands and divide this country,” as The Inquisitr previously reported.
“There is a theme that is throughout this report about how Russia is trying to divide this country,” Dingell said. “I don’t want to play into Russia’s hands and divide this country more with a partisan impeachment. So I am totally schizophrenic right now about all of the different things that are in there.”
In addition to the instances of election interference covered in the Mueller report, The Inquisitr reported that a study from George Washington University revealed that Russia trolls pushed both anti-vaccination and pro-vaccination messages. The goal might have been to amplify each side of the contentious issue and stir controversy in the U.S. to divide the country — as is often the case with Russia disinformation campaigns.
The study’s finding comes days after Trump admitted on Twitter that Russian interference helped him win the presidency, after long being hesitant to criticize the country or its president, Vladimir Putin.
