A panel discussion on “CNN NewsNight” exploded Tuesday when commentators clashed over President Donald Trump’s false claim that Barack Obama was “guilty” of treason — a baseless accusation that some panelists argued was nothing more than a distraction from renewed scrutiny of Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
The debate emerged after National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard accused former President Barack Obama and members of his administration of deliberately crafting a misleading intelligence assessment that claimed Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump.
In response, Obama’s team firmly rejected the accusation. “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,” said spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush.
The controversy soon made its way onto the late-night broadcast known for tackling controversial political topics, while offering perspectives from both the left and right.
“He’s accusing a former president of treason and on top of that saying, ‘It may not be right, but I’m gonna go after them anyway,’” host Abby Phillip said, referring to Trump. “What is he talking about? And what kind of country are we living in that that is actually what he is doing?”
The exchange took a sharp turn when CNN political commentator Brad Todd deflected from Trump’s remarks and pivoted to past uproar by Democrats over Russian interference in the 2016 election. At that point, Phillip cut in, reminding the Republican strategist, “But it’s been eight years since the immediate aftermath of the 2016 election.”
Former Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin came back harder. “Why are we talking about this? This is not the issue. You’re trying to avoid the subject,” he fumed at Todd, alluding to Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
Last week, pressure mounted after The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had sent Epstein a 50th birthday greeting in the form of a letter with a drawing of a naked woman.
Since then, Trump has gone out of his way to change the subject over the airwaves, unleashing attacks on Obama — accusing him of treason while urging Republicans to use “Obama cheated in the election” as a talking point to deflect from the difficult questions emerging about him and Epstein.
The uproar also comes on the heels of a recent Supreme Court decision granting the U.S. president broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office. Legal scholars say the ruling applies to all former presidents as well — meaning any attempt to charge Obama with treason for actions taken during his presidency would be legally baseless.
It was yet another irony amid rising criticism that Trump was trying to deflect attention from his close association with Epstein. While Trump has denied wrongdoing, his renewed attacks on Obama appear to be reigniting a playbook for distractions, as Trump is notorious for manipulating the news cycle with unhinged social media posts and manufactured controversies.
Todd seemed to be taking the baton from Trump during the tense on-air debate.
“President Obama said that Russia did not manipulate any votes. We should note that because every liberal in America said that was the case,” Todd argued as he furthered the beleaguered White House’s strategy of conflating the broad consensus that Russia attempted to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election with a finding that was not asserted, vote tally manipulation by Russia.
But Boykin wasn’t letting him off the hook. He turned the discussion back to Epstein, accusing Trump of obfuscating his ties to the convicted sex offender while refusing to release the entirety of the FBI files on the case — documents that legal experts say Trump has the authority to declassify and disclose at any time.
“He’s talking about Obama because he doesn’t want to talk about Epstein,” Boykin said of Trump, according to video of the exchange posted to social media. “He’s talking about the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Guardians because he doesn’t want to talk about Epstein. He releases the Martin Luther King files because he doesn’t want to talk about Epstein. He’s doing everything possible except talking about Jeffrey Epstein.”
Visibly frustrated, Boykin shouted, “You’re doing everything possible not to talk about the fact that the president of the United States, the current president of the United States, just accused a former president of treason and suggested a prosecution of that former president with no evidence! That is the problem!”
“You can calm down,” Todd said.
“No, I’m not gonna calm down!” Boykin snapped. “Why don’t you talk about that instead of talking about Obama?”
Todd tried again to reframe the conversation: “Because Obama just undid three years of Democrat mythology.” It is not apparent which Democrats Todd claims have accused Russia of altering 2016 vote tallies.
In 2008, Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor for prostitution. He then served just 13 months in jail with partial work release as part of a sweetheart deal with prosecutors. Though federal prosecutors had identified dozens of underage victims, he avoided federal charges for the next decade. The case resurfaced in 2019 when he was federally indicted for sex trafficking underage girls, but he took his own life in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial.
Trump and Epstein were best friends for more than a decade, frequently seen together at parties and social events in Palm Beach and New York during the 1990s and early 2000s. Trump once called Epstein a “terrific guy” who liked women “on the younger side.”
While Trump has repeatedly downplayed his ties to the disgraced financier, flight records show he flew at least once on Epstein’s private jet in the 1990s. The connection has only fueled further calls for the release of the FBI files — especially as Trump continues to deflect from the issue publicly.
Though Trump later claimed he and Epstein had a falling out in 2004 and distanced himself further after Epstein’s arrest, their long-standing friendship places a dark cloud over the White House just six months into Trump’s second term.
Renewed scrutiny of their relationship — and Trump’s failure to fully disclose Epstein-related records — continues to fuel criticism and public distrust, especially among the MAGA base.
Back on CNN, Boykin fired back with a closing rebuke: “The problem is this is what Trump does. He distracts everybody. He’s talking about President Obama because he doesn’t wanna talk about Epstein.”
The very next day, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was notified in May by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appears in the Epstein files.
House Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly gaveled Congress into recess earlier this week just before a scheduled vote on releasing the full Epstein files, sending lawmakers home for the summer break in a move critics say was aimed at protecting those named in the documents.
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