‘The greatest scam in political history’: Donald Trump steps up attacks on Russia probe, as fuller Mueller report looms
- US president seeks to undermine potential disclosures on Russia and his 2016 campaign in redacted document set to be released on Thursday
- Democrats are seeking unredacted copy of report as well as underlying investigative files
Donald Trump isn’t waiting. As Washington counts down the final hours until publication of the redacted special counsel report – now expected on Thursday – the US president stepped up his attacks in an effort to undermine potential disclosures on Russia, his 2016 campaign and the aftermath.
He unleashed a series of tweets on Monday focusing on the previously released summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s conclusions – including a crucial one on obstruction of justice that Trump again misrepresented – produced by US Attorney General William Barr.
“The greatest Scam in political history. If the Mainstream Media were honest, which they are not, this story would be bigger and more important than Watergate. Someday!” Trump wrote on Tuesday, in a tweet referring to columnist Andy McCarthy’s piece on the Russia probe.
Press secretary Sarah Sanders repeatedly tried to make the same case on TV talk shows on Sunday. But the political battle is far from finished over the special counsel’s investigation of Russian efforts to help Trump in 2016 and whether there was cooperation with his campaign.
Democrats are calling for Mueller himself to testify before Congress and have expressed concern that Barr will order unnecessary censoring of the report to protect the president. The House Judiciary Committee, led by Representative Jerry Nadler of New York, is poised to try to compel Barr to turn over an unredacted copy as well as the report’s underlying investigative files.