Retaliation against enemies was the norm in Chicago as political opponents were often targeted using legal, bureaucratic, or personal means to silence or discredit them.

Obama’s first foray into politics foreshadowed this approach. In his 1996 Illinois State Senate race, rather than win through debate and democracy, Obama used legal technicalities to challenge the petition signatures of his opponents, including incumbent Alice Palmer, knocking them all off the ballot for an easy Obama victory.

A similar pattern emerged in Obama’s 2004 U.S. Senate race. In both the primary and general elections, damaging private divorce records of his opponents were made public that all but eliminated the opposition.

Though he denied involvement, his campaign strategist David Axelrod, a former journalist who had previously worked for one of the candidates, was widely suspected of orchestrating the leaks.

Obama’s rise is Chicago was also bolstered by alliances with unsavory characters. Real estate developer Tony Rezko funded all of Obama’s campaigns and was later convicted of fraud and corruption. Rezko also helped Obama purchase his Hyde Park mansion in a shady real estate deal that conveniently gave Rezko cash for his legal fees and Obama a better price and larger lot.

As president, Obama weaponized federal agencies to target opponents and protect allies. The 2013 IRS scandal revealed that conservative and Tea Party-aligned groups faced endless delays in receiving tax-exempt status and disproportionate audits. Obama famously dismissed the controversy by claiming there wasn’t “a smidgen of corruption.”

Other scandals further underscored Obama’s corrupt practices. The botched “Fast and Furious” gun-running operation and the Obama administration’s deceptive handling of the Benghazi attacks demonstrated a habitual reliance on misinformation and cover-ups. Obama’s false assurance about the Affordable Care Act – “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” – became one of the most notorious broken promises in modern politics.

In an October 25, 2010 Univision interview, Obama said bluntly, “We are going to punish our enemies and reward our friends who stand with us.”

During Obama’s presidency, his administration secretly obtained the phone records of Associated Press reporters and labeled Fox News journalist James Rosen a “criminal co-conspirator to legally obtain his personal communications.”

Civil libertarians were further disillusioned by the massive expansion of NSA surveillance programs under Obama’s watch, despite earlier promises to roll them back.

Racial politics also became a divisive tool under Obama’s leadership. Though he had marketed himself as a racial healer, Obama’s comments after incidents involving Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown were designed to inflame tensions and reinforce grievance narratives to help solidify his voting base, rather than promote unity.

A revisit of Obama’s radical ideological roots also deserves attention. In his best-selling memoir Dreams from My Father, Obama recounts being mentored in his childhood by Frank Marshall Davis, a known member of the Communist Party USA and a pro-Soviet columnist.

Davis was the spitting image of Barack, while Obama looked nothing like the Kenyan student whom he claimed was his biological father. In my 2012 film, Dreams from My Real Father, I presented evidence that Davis was in fact Obama’s real father.

Trending: BREAKING: AG Bondi Immediately Fires Alina Habba’s Replacement After Judges Vote to Oust Habba as Interim US Attorney of New Jersey

Then there’s Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s longtime pastor, infamous for sermons proclaiming, “God damn America.”

Obama also maintained deep ties with Bill Ayers, a former domestic terrorist from the Weather Underground, who was a close friend and ideological influence over Obama, and likely the ghost writer of Obama’s memoir. Obama served on boards with Ayers and endorsed his book.

To his supporters, Barack Obama remains a dignified and transformative figure. However revisiting history reveals Barack Obama as a well-executed “Chicago Way” con man. Obama campaigned as mainstream candidate, a unifier and reformer, but then governed like a machine politician, with his many offenses shielded by a cheering compliant press.

With an open assessment of Obama’s history today, it’s entirely plausible that Obama himself, stung by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss and fearing the dismantling of his legacy, while still angry at Trump over calling out Obama’s birth certificate, instigated the “Russia hoax” collusion narrative. The hoax itself – a blend of outdated Cold War paranoia and Chicago-style vengeance – bears all the marks of Obama’s political DNA: vindictive, deceptive, and dangerously effective.