# WTF is Obamagate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 12, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616 "2020-05-12T01:41:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/1 "2020-05-12T01:41:54Z")
Apparently it’s the biggest political scandal in American history, but I can’t seem to figure out what Obama supposedly even did. Is this the first tautological scandal? It exists because someone decided a scandal needed to exist? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/2 "2020-05-12T01:43:33Z")
Tan suit. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/3 "2020-05-12T01:49:22Z")
This is the first I’m hearing of it, but it sounds a lot like “Don’t look at Trump”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/4 "2020-05-12T01:56:16Z")
Something about an umbrella and a Marine? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/5 "2020-05-12T01:59:33Z")
“Obamagate” is either a reference to the leaked audio in which Obama’s caught criticizing Trump on grounds of COVID and Barr’s DoJ (How dare he?!), or maybe it signals an attempt by Barr to cook up some kind of fake charges against Obama? I don’t know, either. Seems like absolutely nobody knows. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/6 "2020-05-12T02:03:51Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Tan suit. That’s where it all started. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/7 "2020-05-12T02:10:58Z")
[Top 10 Obama Scandals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MWxq80oze0) Umbrellagate Tan Suitgate Dijon Mustardgate Lapel Flag Pingate Selfiegate …and several others. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/8 "2020-05-12T02:16:33Z")
It’s that Obama ordered the FBI to investigate and/or make up things about the incoming Trump administration, including lying in a FISA application and wrongfully pursuing St. Michael Flynn. Mix in Peter Strozk, Lisa Page, tarnish Biden by association, what’s not to love? I guess if you start from the position that the Russian collusion investigation was a “hoax” or a “witch hunt” then I guess it makes sense that whoever authorized and/or knew about it was criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/9 "2020-05-12T02:29:03Z")
He snuck cigarettes in the Rose Garden. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/10 "2020-05-12T02:33:45Z")
He’s black. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/11 "2020-05-12T02:34:52Z")
He deigned to speak ill of the King and his handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Also he criticized the Justice Department’s dropping of charges against Michael Flynn. > **[Obama says White House response to coronavirus has been 'absolute chaotic...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/09/politics/obama-trump-coronavirus-response-flynn-case/index.html)** > > Former President Barack Obama delivered a blistering critique of the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus crisis, describing it as "an absolute chaotic disaster" during a private call Friday night with people who worked for him in the... ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/12 "2020-05-12T02:45:53Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > It’s that Obama ordered the FBI to investigate and/or make up things about the incoming Trump administration, including lying in a FISA application and wrongfully pursuing St. Michael Flynn. > > Mix in Peter Strozk, Lisa Page, tarnish Biden by association, what’s not to love? > > I guess if you start from the position that the Russian collusion investigation was a “hoax” or a “witch hunt” then I guess it makes sense that whoever authorized and/or knew about it was criminal. Being serious for a moment, this post above is the correct answer. Barr’s attempt to minimize Flynn’s perjury, which he’s twice pleaded guilty, comes after Trump’s granting Barr immense authority to investigate highly classified intel to determine the origins of the investigation. It looks like this is telegraphing an attempt to suggest that the entire Obama administration is in on some kind of fix to destroy the Trump presidency before it ever had a chance to begin. If Trump is going to fail his ass off and possibly lose an election, he needs to have an excuse. He won the presidency so he can’t claim that the election - that he won - was rigged. But he can claim that his entire presidency was rigged. Comey, Obama, McCabe, Lynch, Clinton, Pelosi, Schumer, the media, China (and all of Asian humanity) - they all were in on a grand conspiracy to destroy Trump. And so someone needs to pay for this. I’m reminded of Michael Cohen’s closing remarks in public testimony: > [@](#): > > “Indeed, given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, and this is why I agreed to appear before you today.” > **[Michael Cohen’s parting shot: I fear what happens if Trump loses in 2020](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/27/18243686/michael-cohen-testimony-closing-statement)** > > "This behavior denigrates the office of the president, and it’s simply un-American." ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/13 "2020-05-12T03:02:03Z")
I’m disappointed that everyone has forgotten the worst one: Arugula-gate. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/14 "2020-05-12T03:03:07Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > [Top 10 Obama Scandals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MWxq80oze0) > > Umbrellagate > Tan Suitgate > Dijon Mustardgate > Lapel Flag Pingate > Selfiegate > …and several others. Terrorist fist bump. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/15 "2020-05-12T03:09:48Z")
Let’s not forget the outrage at Michelle for baring her [del]ch[/del]arms. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/16 "2020-05-12T03:17:57Z")
[What is ‘Obamagate’ and why is Trump so worked up about it?](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/12/what-is-obamagate-and-why-is-trump-so-worked-up-about-it) > [@](#): > > **So what exact crime is Trump accusing Obama of committing?** > The president himself does not seem to know. “‘Obamagate’,” he ruminated in the White House rose garden on Monday. “It’s been going on for a long time. It’s been going on from before I even got elected. And it’s a disgrace that it happened.” > > Asked by a Washington Post reporter for the second time to name Obama’s exact offence, Trump replied cryptically: “You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody. All you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours.” ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/17 "2020-05-12T03:18:02Z")
Obamagate exists only as an attempt to distract from the global failure of the bankrupt ideology known as conservatism. The United States, The United Kingdom, Brazil…every country with right-wing rule is a death sentence for it’s citizens. Good people have been fooled many times, but that’s coming to an end. Conservatism equals death. Right wing led countries don’t need death squads anymore; they kill with policy. If letting the less fortunate live shorter lives via poisoned environments and inadequate healthcare don’t do the trick, then the conservatives will kill them with an unchecked and uncontrolled viral outbreak. It’s the republican way, from slavery through every other sorry chapter of American history. Obamagate. History won’t even record it. The disease of right-wing 'populism, on other hand, will forever be remembered as a goddamn disgrace to every principle America claimed to hold dear. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/18 "2020-05-12T04:24:06Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Tan suit. > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > That’s where it all started. Then the pink shoelaces and polka dot vests followed. Inevitably, it ended with a big Panama with a purple hat band. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/19 "2020-05-12T04:50:19Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Tan suit. [Also known as “Tan-Gate”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrTf6CaTTc0)[“No president has ever done anything worse.”](https://barkbarkwoofwoof.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/reagan-tan-suit-08-29-14.jpg) (Oh, for the days when the height of executive malfeasance was violating fashion norms.) Then there is [the scandal of Hillary Clinton and the Swiss File Transfer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Lfd1aB9YI&t=2m47s). For grins, stick around to 3:33 when you get to see Michael Flynn (of the “pleading guilty to ‘willfully and knowingly’ making ‘false, fictitious and fraudulent statements’ to the FBI regarding conversations with Russia’s ambassador” Flynns) screaming about Clinton having “put our nation at extremely high risk with her careless use of a private email server.” This is like Stanley Kubrick came back from the dead and decided to make a satire of American politics with Peter Sellers overplaying every role. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616/21 "2020-05-12T07:11:17Z")
I was going to guess Benghazi, the Fast and Furious ATF guns, or Solyndra. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-obamagate/853616.md?page=2)