Trump: Russia probe made FBI miss signs of shooting
WASHINGTON DC: President Donald Trump attacked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and lawmakers probing suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 United States presidential election, drawing sharp criticism for saying an excessive focus on Russia led investigators to miss signs that could have prevented a deadly school shooting in Florida.
In a series of tweets over the weekend from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said congressional investigations and political “hatred” showed Russia had succeeded in sowing “discord, disruption and chaos” in the US.
He accused his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, of failing to do enough to stop Russian election interference.
“They are laughing their asses off in Moscow,” Trump tweeted on Sunday morning.
In a tweet on Saturday night, Trump criticised the FBI for missing warning signs in the case of Nikolas Cruz, 19, who is charged with killing 17 people on Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, a Fort Lauderdale suburb.
The FBI acknowledged on Friday that it failed to investigate a warning that Cruz possessed a gun and the desire to kill.
“Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable,” Trump wrote.
“They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign — there is no collusion.”
Survivors of the massacre slammed Trump for connecting it to the Russia probe, which shadowed his year-old presidency.
“Oh my god. 17 OF MY CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS ARE GONE AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO MAKE THIS ABOUT RUSSIA???!!” Morgan Williams, 16, tweeted. “HAVE A DAMN HEART.”
Several lawmakers, including a Republican, rejected Trump’s linking of the FBI’s missteps in preventing the shooting to the Russia probe.
“So many folks in the FBI are doing all that they can to keep us safe. The reality of it is that they are two separate issues,” Republican Senator Tim Scott said on CBS’ Face the Nation programme.