September 16, 2019

Trump Says the Government Should Investigate Obama’s Netflix Deal

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

Alex Wong/Getty

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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?”

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So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

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