TRUMP RIPS MEDIA FOR ‘VERY UNFAIR’ COVERAGE OF FLYNN
WASHINGTON • U.S. President Donald Trump blamed intelligence officials and the media Wednesday for what he called the “very, very unfair” treatment of his ousted national security adviser and for “illegally leaked” information about reported contacts between his campaign advisers and Russian officials.
Trump’s comments come amid a new swirl of controversy over his ties to Russia. The White House said Michael Flynn was forced to resign this week after misleading Vice-President Mike Pence and other Trump aides about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. before the inauguration.
But in his first public comments on Flynn’s firing, Trump appeared to side with his former aide, saying it was “really a sad thing that he was treated so badly.”
Flynn’s ouster was a blow to a White House struggling to find its footing in Trump’s first weeks in office. Questions about Russia only deepened late Tuesday when The New York Times reported U.S. agencies had intercepted phone calls last year between Russian intelligence officials and members of Trump’s 2016 campaign team.
Trump didn’t directly address the veracity of the report during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but lashed out at what he called the “criminal act” of leaking information. Earlier Wednesday, Trump tweeted that “classified information is illegally given out by ‘intelligence’ like candy. Very un American!”
The president ignored shouted questions about whether his advisers were in touch with Russian officials. His spokesman denied such contacts as recently as Tuesday afternoon.
Democrats called for an independent investigation into Trump’s Russia ties and urged Republicans to join them.
“This is a moment for Republicans to put country ahead of party,” Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said. “There’s only one or two times like this in your political career where you face a moment like this where what’s good for your country may not be good for your party.”
GOP lawmakers, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, resisted, saying that the existing congressional committees will continue their investigations into Russian interference in the presidential election.
Flynn maintained for weeks he had not discussed U.S. sanctions in his conversations with Russia’s ambassador. He later conceded that the topic may have come up.
Trump initially thought Flynn could survive the controversy, according to a person with direct knowledge of the president’s views, but a pair of explosive stories in The Washington Post in recent days made the situation untenable.