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  • 2017-02-17 (xsd:date)
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  • Is Obama 'Commanding' an Army of 30,000 Anti-Trump Activists from His Home? (en)
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  • On 13 February 2017, InfoWars.com (the web site belonging to excitable conspiracy theorist Alex Jones) posted a story reporting a claim that former United States President Barack Obama was marshaling an army of 30,000 foot soldiers while choosing to live near the White House in order to plot against his successor, President Donald Trump: The InfoWars story is based entirely on a story published two days earlier in the New York Post, which speculated that President Obama (who vacationed overseas after leaving office) is somehow pulling the strings on an army that he operates through the non-profit organization Organizing for Action: Organizing for Action officials told us that Obama does not currently have any formal relationship with the group. Meantime the Obamas have reportedly decided to stay in Washington D.C. temporarily to allow their youngest daughter to finish high school. They made no mention of remaining near the White House to act as a shadow administration: The organization's executive director is Katie Hogan, and Obama's name is not listed on financial forms as an officer, director, trustee or key employee. Spokesman Jesse Lehrich told us: No doubt Organizing for Action, which as of 2014 lists a total of 32,525 volunteers, has been associated politically with Obama, first as a candidate and then as 44th president of the United States. Various iterations of the organization backed his presidential campaigns, and many of its goals involve defending aspects of Obama's legacy, like the Affordable Care Act, immigration reform and gun legislation. Some of its key staffers, like Jim Messina and Jon Carson, are a former Obama campaign manager and White House aide, respectively. Obama, who is 55 years old, has hinted that he may have a politically active future upon leaving office, saying at a town hall event in North Carolina in October 2016: The former president may well engage in civic activity or political activism in his post-presidential life, and the non-profit group that has been aligned with him for years is engaged in political opposition activity during the term of a president with vastly different policies. Neither of these items are particularly surprising, but neither do they mean that President Obama is hunkered in Washington in a shadow White House from which he sends forth armies to thwart President Trump. (en)
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