House Speaker Mike Johnson says former President Barack Obama could be subpoenaed to testify over what he calls a “treasonous conspiracy” during the 2016 election—just as Trump’s base is erupting over the handling of the Epstein case.
In an interview with The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Johnson was asked point-blank whether he would subpoena Obama — he didn’t hesitate.
“Of course,” Johnson told the right-wing network. “I think we have a responsibility to follow the truth where it leads… So we have some very bright, very capable, very strong leaders of judiciary and oversight… And I do expect that… we will get the answers and there will be accountability to the extent that we are able to do that.”
The push follows a release of more than 100 pages of declassified intelligence records by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The documents accuse top Obama-era officials of withholding and manipulating information about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Gabbard has referred the matter to the Department of Justice, calling it a criminal conspiracy.
“No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Gabbard said. “I’m providing all documents to the Department of Justice to deliver the accountability that President Trump, his family, and the American people deserve.”
Gabbard’s memo names former CIA Director John Brennan, former DNI James Clapper, and former FBI Director James Comey among those allegedly involved. But Obama, she claims, oversaw it all.
Johnson echoed that sentiment, saying: “If it’s uncomfortable for him, he shouldn’t have been involved in overseeing this, which is what appears to us has happened. There’s a lot of allegations on the table—our job is to go and follow each of those trails and to find out the truth.”
His comments come as Trump faces mounting criticism from his own base over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Trump had promised to expose Epstein’s network during his 2024 campaign, but recent DOJ documents claimed there is no “client list” and no more charges will be brought.
The blowback has been fierce. “If this cover-up continues, 10 percent of the MAGA base will walk away,” Steve Bannon warned this month. “Lose them now, and we lose 40 seats in 2026 and the presidency in 2028.”
Amid that controversy, Johnson is now steering the GOP’s attention somewhere else: to Obama and the intelligence community.
“The people who are being called out now were involved in a scheme,” Johnson said. “It was a shameless false set of accusations and yet they perpetuated a lie on the American people. And they looked right into the camera and just lied.”
He added: “The greatest threat of all this is not just what they’ve done to President Trump as an individual, it’s what they’re doing to the institutions… they have diminished the people’s faith in our system of justice itself.”
Legal experts aren’t buying it.
“Factually, it’s wholly unsupported,” said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. “The Durham investigation into the Russian interference yielded no serious charges. And the statute of limitations has long since run.”
He also pointed to presidential immunity: “No legitimate prosecutor would charge a former president in this type of case, especially with the Supreme Court’s broad interpretation of presidential immunity.”
Democrats also pushed back. Senator Mark Warner, Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on X: “It seems DNI Gabbard is unaware that the years-long Russia investigation… reaffirmed that the Russian government… used social media to conduct an information warfare campaign… to benefit Donald Trump.”
Still, Republicans are desperate to change the narrative and are now signaling that subpoenas are likely. Oversight and Judiciary Committees are reviewing Gabbard’s documents, and Johnson says they will go as far as bringing Obama to testify.
The DOJ has not announced whether it will pursue charges or open a formal investigation.
Watch the clip below:
WOW: @SpeakerJohnson says he has no concern about compelling testimony from Barack Obama about treasonous conspiracy
“If it’s uncomfortable for him, he shouldn’t have been involved in overseeing this—which is what it appears to us has happened.”
Something’s different this time pic.twitter.com/fViOtTCQre
— John Strand (@JohnStrandUSA) July 22, 2025
