Trump’s chief of staff asked FBI to dispute claims of Russia links
WHITE House chief of staff Reince Priebus asked two FBI officials to dispute media reports that President Trump’s campaign advisers were frequently in touch with Russian intelligence during the election, according to three White House officials.
The officials said Priebus’s February 15 request to FBI director James Comey and deputy director Andrew McCabe came as the White House sought to discredit a New York Times report about contacts between Russian officials and members of Trump’s 2016 campaign team.
The chief of staff’s discussions sparked outrage among some Democrats, who said that Priebus was violating policies intended to limit communications between the agency and the White House on pending investigations. The FBI has not commented publicly on the veracity of the report and there is no indication it plans to, despite the White House’s request.
White House officials said it was the FBI that first raised concerns about the reporting, but told Priebus the bureau could not weigh in publicly on the matter. The officials said Comey and McCabe instead gave Priebus the go-ahead to discredit the story publicly, something the FBI has not confirmed.
CNN first reported that Priebus had asked the FBI for help and a White House official confirmed the matter to the Associated Press on Thursday night. On Friday morning, two other senior White House officials summoned reporters to a hastily arranged briefing to expand on the timeline.
The officials said Priebus had a previously scheduled meeting with McCabe the morning after the New York Times story was published. Priebus and Comey then reportedly spoke later in the day.
“The White House is simply not permitted to pressure the FBI to make public statements about a pending investigation of the president and his advisers,” said Michigan representative John Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
A 2009 memo from then-attorney general Eric Holder said the justice department is to advise the White House on pending criminal or civil investigations “only when it is important for the performance of the president’s duties and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective”.
When communication has to occur, the memo said, it should involve only the highest-level officials from the White House and the justice department. Trump has been shadowed by questions about potential ties to Russia since winning the election. US intelligence agencies have also concluded that Russia meddled in the campaign to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.