(MENAFN) U.S. President Donald Trump has asserted that his 2016 election opponent Hillary Clinton, ex-President Barack Obama, and others tied to the controversial “Russiagate” episode ought to face significant repercussions for what he portrayed as a calculated attempt to undermine his administration.

In a conversation on Friday with a news agency, Trump reacted to freshly revealed material from the appendix of Special Counsel John Durham’s 2023 assessment of the Russiagate narrative.

The information allegedly connects Clinton’s 2016 campaign along with high-level officials from the Obama administration to an organized scheme aiming to associate Trump with Russian interference.

“I think they should pay a price. By the way, it’s a very big price,” Trump stated. “For that to have gone on – it’s one of the great scandals, I think, in the history of our country. I know it is.”

Trump alleged that Obama was directly aware of and supported Clinton’s strategy to concoct allegations of Trump’s collusion with Russia.

He referenced newly declassified papers disclosed earlier in the week by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to support his claims.

“[Obama] knew about it. We have it cold. [Durham] has it in writing,” Trump emphasized.

“You could almost say that [Obama] was more of the mastermind. He heard what she was doing, and then he approved it – and not only approved it, he pushed it.”

He went on to characterize the allegations as a “totally fake” plot that caused severe harm to both innocent individuals and the nation as a whole.

When questioned about whether Clinton should now be held legally accountable, Trump recalled his post-2016 election decision not to pursue prosecution, despite his supporters’ chants to “lock her up.”

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