If Moscow began by trying simply to learn more about the potential next USA president, it shifted to trying to hurt the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and then helping her opponent – or so the argument goes.
Advertisement
Mr Comey said: “With respect to the President’s tweets about alleged wiretapping directed at him by the prior administration, I have no information that supports those tweets”.
But Comey told the committee that the FBI only opens investigations when there is a “credible allegation of wrongdoing or a reasonable basis to believe” criminality took place.
‘I think it would be quite good for the administration to put forward what evidence there is, ‘ he said on Face the Nation.
“If we’re going to protect the country, we need to know exactly what the Russians did, how they did it, how to protect ourselves, how to protect our European allies who are facing elections right now that the Russians are interfering in”.
Brian Fallon, a former Clinton staffer, noted the irony.
One: Confirmation that the FBI is investigating Russia’s contacts with the Trump campaign will only heighten Democratic calls for a special prosecutor, especially after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from federal inquiries involving the 2016 campaign. Asked about the flap, Trump said: “That was a statement made by a very talented lawyer on Fox, and so you shouldn’t be talking to me, you should be talking to Fox. OK?”
Flynn later admitted talking to the ambassador about U.S. relations with Russia just as the Obama administration was slapping punitive new sanctions and expelling three dozen Russian officials over the election interference. The White House last week pointed to a report of British involvement in an attempt to bolster the president’s claim. Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper later issued a statement saying it was “in the best interest of all Americans” to investigate possible Trump-Russia ties.
With Trump’s latest tweet, it appears he’s hoping to influence what questions the witnesses will be asked at the briefing, as he tries to turn the attention away from his campaign toward his vanquished rival, Hillary Clinton.
Nunes also said Monday that there is “no evidence to date that officials from any campaign conspired with Russian agents”.
In a round of questions with NSA Director Michael Rogers, Rooney argued that such leaks harm national security and may threaten the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a key statute authorizing overseas signals intercept.
Comey also said he had no proof that backed up Trump’s unfounded claim that President Obama wiretapped him at Trump Tower during the campaign.
Comey said due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, there were many things he could not comment on – and he added his “no comment” responses shouldn’t be interpreted, either.
Michael McFaul said the United States leader was being “very scary” after he tweeted about allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election, ahead of Intelligence chiefs giving evidence to Congress on the matter.
Republican representatives took up the president’s line of attack, with Rep. Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Rep Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) focusing their questioning on leaks of classified information.
“It was not our intention to say that today”, Comey said, adding it’s not “something that we looked at” as part of intelligence community review of the election.
Advertisement
Trump blamed Democrats on Monday for stirring concerns about Russian Federation, but top Republican lawmakers John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio, among others, have publicly said they want to find out more about Russia’s role in the election. “Because had we known about this back in July clearly we wouldn’t be in this position”.
