Venting his frustration in a series of tweets on Sunday, President Donald Trump again demanded to know how the Justice Department, FBI, and Obama Administration handled questions of Russian interference in the 2016 election, saying he would request a new review specifically to see if an investigation was opened for ‘political purposes’ involving his campaign.
“I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes – and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!” the President said.
It was one of a number of tweets where Mr. Trump flashed aggravation with the investigation into questions of Russian interference in the 2016 elections this weekend, as he repeated his charge that the feds had gone easy on Hillary Clinton and Democrats, while focusing investigative resources on his own campaign.
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
Things are really getting ridiculous. The Failing and Crooked (but not as Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the World’s most expensive Witch Hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
....At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren’t looking at the corruption...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
...in the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got $145,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife $700,000 (and got off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more. Republicans and real Americans should start getting tough on this Scam.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party. Don’t worry about Dems FISA Abuse, missing Emails or Fraudulent Dossier!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
What ever happened to the Server, at the center of so much Corruption, that the Democratic National Committee REFUSED to hand over to the hard charging (except in the case of Democrats) FBI? They broke into homes & offices early in the morning, but were afraid to take the Server?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
....and why hasn’t the Podesta brother been charged and arrested, like others, after being forced to close down his very large and successful firm? Is it because he is a VERY well connected Democrat working in the Swamp of Washington, D.C.?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
The Witch Hunt finds no Collusion with Russia - so now they’re looking at the rest of the World. Oh’ great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
What seemingly set off Mr. Trump on Sunday was a report in the New York Times, which said Donald Trump Jr. had held a meeting at Trump Tower in the months before the elections, to hear an offer of help from emissaries of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“The Witch Hunt finds no Collusion with Russia – so now theyre looking at the rest of the World,” the President tweeted.
The President’s call for a review of how the FBI handled questions about Russian interference is already the subject of a review inside the Justice Department – officials decided to simply expand that to include a review of what the President had asked for, and not be pressured into an investigation.
“There are rules,” said Carrie Cordero, a former Justice Department national security lawyer, who is now a professor at Georgetown University Law School.
The Department of Justice doesn't open investigations for political puposes, which is what the president says today he will order tomorrow. There are rules. And I'm convinced there are people left in this government who will follow them.
— Carrie Cordero (@carriecordero) May 20, 2018
In Congress, Democrats saw the President’s tweets as a signal of one thing – that he’s worried about what investigators are finding out about the 2016 probe, as they raised questions of whether the President is trying to exert political pressure on the Justice Department.
“Trumps claim of an embedded spy is nonsense,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). “His demand DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems.”
“The President has sent 8 tweets in 5 hours on Hillary and the Mueller investigation,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). “He is unhinged.”
I would like a lawyer to explain to me why that last tweet from POTUS is not a big deal, because it seems like maybe it’s a pretty big deal.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) May 20, 2018
“You need to be subpoenaed for obstruction of justice/conspiracy/money laundering,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX). “Let Mueller do his job.”
Democrats also questioned how the FBI did anything improper with regards to the Trump Campaign, because while then-Director James Comey spoke out about the Hillary Clinton email investigation just before the election, he said nothing about an ongoing counter-intelligence probe involving Mr. Trump’s campaign and Russia.
“A President who has nothing to hide would not have done another series of tweets this Sunday Morning smearing the DOJ investigation,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA).
WFXT