Trump decries ‘phony’ report that Russia probe is widening to examine if he tried to obstruct justice
Robert Mueller, special counsel who leads the Russia investigation, is interviewing senior US intelligence officials over the matter, unidentified officials say
US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to offer his first comments on news that he is being examined for possible obstruction of justice - an investigation he dismissed as part of the “phony” accusations of collusion between his campaign and Russia last year.
“They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story,” Trump said in a tweet.
“Nice,” he added.
“You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA” — the acronym referring to his campaign slogan, Make America Great Again.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice, according to officials.
The move by special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Trump’s conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
Accusations of obstruction arose last month when Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
Comey also testified he had told Trump he was not under investigation.
The Post and The New York Times both reported that Mueller was seeking interviews with three Trump administration officials who weren’t involved in Trump’s campaign: Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Michael Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former NSA deputy director.
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump’s personal lawyer, earlier responded to the Post report by saying: “The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal.”
The Post report cites anonymous sources who were briefed on requests made by investigators. It was not known whether the FBI was the source of the information.
Mueller met Wednesday with the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee in an effort to ensure their investigations don’t conflict.
The leaders of the Senate Intelligence committee said in a statement issued Wednesday that they “look forward to future engagements” with Mueller.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman, Republican Richard Burr, and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the panel’s top Democrat, didn’t provide any other details regarding the meeting. An aide familiar with the meeting said it was held to discuss the investigations, including ways that the parallel inquiries don’t interfere with one another. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller last month, testified Tuesday he has seen no evidence of good cause to fire Mueller.
Watch: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says no basis to fire Mueller
Also Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley said his panel will investigate the removal of former Comey and “any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations.”
Grassley announced the investigation in a letter to California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the panel’s top Democrat. Grassley’s office said the letter is in response to a recent letter from Feinstein requesting that the committee seek details from senior FBI leadership about Comey’s interactions with Trump before he was fired.
The letter said the investigation will also probe Comey’s testimony that Loretta Lynch, as former president Barack Obama’s attorney general, had directed him to describe an FBI probe into Hillary Clinton’s email practises as merely a “matter” and to avoid calling it an investigation.
“You and I agree that the American people deserve a full accounting of attempts to meddle in both our democratic processes and the impartial administration of justice ... It is my view that fully investigating the facts, circumstances, and rationale for Mr Comey’s removal will provide us the opportunity to do that on a cooperative, bipartisan basis,” according to the letter.
Feinstein has said the Judiciary Committee should investigate, but had asked Grassley to keep the investigations separate.
Grassley said Comey’s dismissal and Comey’s testimony on Lynch should be looked at together, noting that Comey “took the opportunity in his testimony to clear his own name by denouncing as false the administration’s claims that the FBI rank-and-file had lost confidence in Mr Comey’s leadership in the wake of the Clinton email investigation.”
Associated Press, The Washington Post
