Donald Trump directly addressed reports that intelligence officials had concerns about his ties to Russia. The president said questions about his involvement with the country were "a disgrace" and reports were "a hoax."
Advertisement
On Monday, US President Donald Trump claimed to have never worked with Russia, after two media reports over the weekend, from TheNew York Times (NYT)and The Washington Post, reignited the controversy surrounding his behavior toward Russia and his firing of former FBI chief James Comey.
"I never worked for Russia and you know that answer better than anybody," Trump told reporters at the White House. "It's a disgrace that you even ask that question. It's all a big fat hoax," the president angrily said to a reporter on the South Lawn of the White House.
The comment was in relation to an issue in the public eye ever since the 2016 election campaign. Over the weekend, NYT reported that in 2017 law enforcement officials began investigating whether Trump had been working on behalf of Russia and against US interests.
Trump said earlier that former FBI and Justice Department officials were "known scoundrels" and "dirty cops."
According to the NYT report, agents and senior FBI officials had held back from investigating then-candidate Trump, despite having grown suspicious of his ties to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
But, in 2017, the president's actions before and after he fired Comey, particularly when Trump himself tied the firing to the Russia investigation, prompted authorities to begin a counterintelligence investigation.
The inquiry was taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller just days after FBI officials had opened it, as part of his investigation into whether Russia had meddled in the 2016 election. NYT reported that it was unclear if Mueller was still exploring Trump's ties to Russia.
TheWashington Post reported that Trump was trying to conceal information about his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin from aides and colleagues. The paper reported that this also aroused investigators' suspicions.
Trump was dismissive of the reports on Monday, as he had been in a series of messages on Twitter beforehand. "It's a lot of fake news," he said. "I have relationships with almost everybody and that's a good thing not a bad thing," Trump added.
Who is James Comey?
From endorsing enhanced interrogation to investigating Russia's alleged election-tampering, the ex-FBI director has contributed to the divisive political landscape in the US. DW examines the man behind the headlines.
Image: Getty Images
A divisive figure
The seventh in a lineage of FBI directors with law degrees, James Comey has shaped politics in the US as the head of the law enforcement agency. But who is the man behind the headlines? From prosecuting an American celebrity to refusing to sanction the NSA's mass surveillance program, DW explores the contentious life of James Comey.
Image: Getty Images
Taking down a celebrity
Serving as Manhattan's chief federal prosecutor, Comey rose to notoriety in 2002, when he led the prosecution of US celebrity Martha Stewart for securities fraud and obstruction of justice. Stewart, widely known in the US for her cooking and lifestyle shows, served a 5-month jail sentence following the highly-publicized case.
Image: picture-alliance/epa/J. Lane
Enhanced interrogation
In late 2003, Comey was confirmed as the US deputy attorney general, making him the second-highest-ranking official in the Justice Department. Serving under former President George W. Bush, Comey endorsed a memorandum approving the use of 13 enhanced interrogation techniques during the War on Terror, including waterboarding. He later said he lobbied to have the policy toned down.
Image: Getty Images/J. Moore
Mass surveillance
Comey has warned of the consequences of domestic mass surveillance, saying in March: "There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America." While serving as acting attorney general during the hospitalization of John Ashcroft in 2004, he refused to endorse the legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance program, even when pressured by the Bush administration.
Image: picture alliance/zb/A. Engelhardt
Obama's choice
In 2013, then-President Barack Obama nominated Comey to serve as the seventh director of the FBI. He received the nomination despite being a registered member of the Republican party. Later that year, he received congressional approval to takeover the office. In his installation speech, he said the bureau's work is founded on integrity. "Without integrity, all is lost," he said.
Image: Reuters
More Holocaust education
In 2015, Comey penned an op-ed on why he required new FBI special agents and intelligence analysts to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington. He said the reason was to have them understand the consequences of abusing power and to be confronted by the atrocities humans are capable of. "I believe that the Holocaust is the most significant event in human history," he said.
In July 2016, Comey announced that the FBI had found no evidence of criminal intention in Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server as state secretary. But days before the presidential election, he issued a letter to lawmakers informing them of new emails deemed "pertinent to the investigation." He later said no evidence was uncovered. Clinton has since blamed Comey for losing the election.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/M. Altaffer
'You're fired'
On May 9, Trump sent Comey an unusual letter firing the FBI director, cutting short his 10-year mandate to lead the bureau. Given the ongoing FBI-led investigation into election-meddling by Russia, critics have warned that the move may amount to obstruction of justice for undermining the probe. Trump later appeared to threaten Comey over the existence of "tapes" of their conversations.
Image: Getty Images/A. Harrer
Trump-Russia nexus
Comey reportedly kept memos of interactions between him and President Donald Trump, which appear to implicate the head of state in attempts to obstruct a federal probe into Russia's alleged involvement in influencing the 2016 election. The day after US media reported on the existence of the memos, the Justice Department named a special counsel to lead the probe amid fears of White House influence.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/A. Shcherbak
Damning testimony?
In June 2017, shortly after being fired, Comey testified in Congress that he believed Trump fired him over the Russia probe. "I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted," he told lawmakers. He has since released a book, in which he described Trump as a "mafia boss" who is "untethered to the truth."
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
10 images1 | 10
New attorney general
On Monday, attorney general nominee William Barr said he would protect Mueller's Russia probe if confirmed to head the Justice Department.
"On my watch, Bob will be allowed to complete his work," Barr said in prepared remarks.
The nominee, who previously served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, will have to address his previous criticism of Mueller's probe.
Barr is expected to emphasize his independence, clarify to lawmakers that he did not seek the job and assert that Trump did not demand a promise of loyalty in return for the nomination.
"As attorney general, my allegiance will be to the rule of law, the constitution, and the American people," Barr pledged.
Trump has already hired and fired one attorney general, Jeff Sessions, whose resignation letter to the president began: "At your request, I am submitting my resignation."
This followed months of pressure on Sessions from Trump, including the president's telling the NYT in one interview that he would not have appointed Sessions had he known that his attorney general would recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
jcg/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
Hacking the 2016 US election: a timeline
The US expelled 35 Russian diplomats over a bitter row between the two countries. The Kremlin denied US intelligence reports that it supported hackers who tried to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Kudryavtsev
Democrats in the dark
Over the summer, a security company hired by the Democratic National Convention tells the DNC that they have been successfully infiltrated by hackers for more than year. Two groups, known as Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear, both have links to the Russian government, the Washington Post reports.
Image: Reuters/M. Kauzlarich
All eyes on Russia
At the end of July, the FBI launches an investigation into whether or not the Russian government ordered the DNC hack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calls the move "paranoid."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
'Russia, if you're listening'
On the campaign trail, Republican nominee Donald Trump encourages Russia to "find the 30,000 emails that are missing." In a series of debates with rival Hillary Clinton, Trump casts doubt on Moscow's role in hacks that targeted the DNC and Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
WikiLeaks targets Clinton
Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks begins releasing slightly compromising emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Co-founder Julian Assange defends targeting Clinton, saying Trump's own statements are indictment enough of the Republican nominee. Over a period of months, WikiLeaks consistently denies allegations that its sources are based in Russia.
Image: Reuters/A. Schmidt
CIA, FBI investigations
In a rare moment of complete agreement for the two biggest intelligence agencies in the US, both the FBI and CIA come to the conclusion that the Russian government sought to influence the US election by promoting unfavorable coverage of Hillary Clinton.
Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Donald and Vladimir
Trump, who has made no secret of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calls the intelligence reports "ridiculous." Anti-Clinton voices slam the probe as a distraction meant to discredit the now president-elect. This puts Trump at odds with Republicans in Congress who call for an independent investigation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Thew & A. Druzhinin/Ria Novosti/Kremlin Pool
Obama expels diplomats
At the end of December, the Obama administration expels 35 Russian diplomats and shuts down two Russian intelligence compounds as the Kremlin continues to deny having a role in the summer's cyberattacks. President Putin eschews direct retaliation, saying he will wait to see how President-elect Trump's Russia policies play out.