Republican Rep. Mike Kelly was caught on video floating a conspiracy that former President Barack Obama is working to undermine his successor’s administration.
A YouTube video shows the Pennsylvania lawmaker expressing his suspicion about the fact that after leaving the White House the Obama family moved into the Kalorama neighborhood in Washington, D.C., to “to run a shadow government.”
“I think we ought to pitch in to let him go someplace else, because he is there for one purpose and for one purpose only,” Kelly said. “And that is to run a shadow government that is going to totally upset the new agenda. It just doesn’t make sense. And people sit back and say, my gosh, why can’t you guys get this done?”
Several right-wing news outlets, like Breitbart News and the Federalist, have run stories in recent days alleging that Obama is developing a “shadow government” to take down President Trump’s administration. These articles follow a number of leaks from unnamed officials, that have raised questions on the Trump teams ties to Russia, and Trump’s assertion, without proof, that Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.
Kelly’s office later put out a statement on the video, saying he was speaking in a “private” setting.
“Rep. Kelly delivered his remarks at a private meeting to an audience of fellow Republicans. He was sharing the frustration of everyone in the room over how they believe certain Obama administration holdovers within the federal bureaucracy are attempting to upset President Trump’s agenda,” the statement said.
Philly.com reported Kelly’s staff said he “fully supports” the Obamas staying in Washington, D.C., while his youngest daughter, Sasha, finishes high school — which is the reason Obama gave for staying in town.
In another statement Friday evening, Kelly’s spokesman, Tom Qualtere, said: “Because of the extraordinary interest in Rep. Kelly’s remarks, it is worth clarifying that Rep. Kelly does not believe that President Obama is personally operating a shadow government. He does believe it would be helpful to the new administration if the former president would personally call for an end to all leaks and obstruction by personnel from his administration who currently serve in the executive branch under President Trump.”
The spokesman added: “Rep. Kelly hopes President Obama will continue to root for President Trump’s success as he said he would do last November. Also as previously mentioned, Rep. Kelly fully supports the former president’s decision to stay in Washington while his daughter completes school.”
