Trump says he’s being investigated over Comey
DONALD Trump has appeared to confirm he is under investigation for obstruction of justice, claiming he is being probed for firing FBI director James Comey by the man who told him to do it.
It was not clear whether the US President was basing his tweet on direct knowledge, or on reports this week that special counsel Robert Mueller is examining whether he obstructed justice by firing Mr Comey last month amid the Russia investigation.
Mr Mueller was appointed as special counsel to investigate Moscow’s alleged involvement in the presidential election last year and possible collusion by Trump campaign associates with the Russians, but there has been no indication that Mr Mueller told the president to fire Mr Comey.
Mr Trump tweeted: “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.”
In another tweet, Mr Trump said: “After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my ‘collusion with the Russians,’ nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!”
Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein submitted a widely circulated memo to the president last month raising concerns over Mr Comey’s performance, but Mr Trump later said he had already made the decision to fire Mr Comey.
The White House confirmed Mr Mueller was among the candidates the president interviewed to replace Mr Comey. A day later, Mr Rosenstein appointed Mr Mueller, who was at the helm of the FBI during the September 11 attacks, as special counsel.
The new tweets are the latest in a week of angry social media responses from the president over a report by the Washington Post that Mr Mueller was looking into whether Mr Trump obstructed justice.
In a series of statements on Twitter on Thursday, Mr Trump repeated his claim that Mr Mueller’s investigation is based on the “phony” premise of possible collusion between Russia and a cadre of Trump campaign associates.