The FBI’S reputation is in tatters, says Trump in salvo on bureau
President’s fondness for singer’s hits at full volume among quirks disclosed in book by former aides
DONALD TRUMP launched another blistering attack on the integrity of the FBI yesterday, saying the agency’s reputation was in tatters.
In posts on Twitter, Mr Trump also took aim at James Comey, the bureau’s former director, and repeated his denial that he had asked him to drop an investigation into Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser.
He wrote: “After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters – worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness.” Earlier he wrote: “I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie.”
The salvo came amid a flurry of developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into alleged Russian interference in the US election this week.
Reports emerged that Mr Mueller, a former FBI direc- tor, had dismissed an FBI of- ficer from the investigation in the summer after he was discovered to have sent anti-trump texts.
Clearly buoyed by the dismissal, Mr Trump tweeted: “Report: ‘ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT LED CLINTON EMAIL PROBE’ Now it all starts to make sense!”
Yesterday, Dianne Feinstein, a leading Democrat, hinted the Senate was building a case against Mr Trump for obstructing justice.
DONALD TRUMP has a penchant for having his trousers steam pressed while still wearing them as he eats junk food and plays songs by Sir Elton John at maximum volume.
And – according to colourful new accounts of his 2016 election campaign – his temper is so bad that a verbal assault by the leader of the free world is likened to having your “face ripped off ”.
A book written by two former aides goes on to claim his wrath is so all-consuming that it would “break most hardened men and women into little pieces”.
In Let Trump Be Trump, Corey Lewandowski, a former campaign manager, and David Bossie, another top aide, say there were moments during Mr Trump’s improbable run to the White House when “they wanted to parachute off Trump Force One”.
“Sooner or later, everybody who works for Donald Trump will see a side of him that makes you wonder why you took a job with him in the first place,” they write in the book, due to be published tomorrow.
“His wrath is never intended as any personal offence, but sometimes it can be hard not to take it that way. The mode that he switches into when things aren’t going his way can feel like an allout assault; it’d break most hardened men and women into little pieces.”
According to the Washington Post, which obtained a copy of the book, much is made of Mr Trump’s junk food diet. “On Trump Force One there were four major food groups: Mcdonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza and Diet Coke,” the authors wrote. “The plane’s cupboards were stacked with Vienna fingers, potato chips, pretzels and many packages of Oreos because Trump, a renowned germaphobe, would not eat from a previously opened package.”
During the campaign, Dr Harold Bornstein, Mr Trump’s physician, said the president had “extraordinary” stamina and physical strength and would be the “healthiest person ever elected president”. A more detailed report revealed Mr Trump’s cholesterol to be “a little elevated”.
The book details the work of Hope Hicks, Mr Trump’s 29-year-old communications director. One of her jobs was to make sure that his suits were pressed.
He would yell “get the machine!” at her “and Hope would take out the steamer and start steaming Mr Trump’s suit, while he was wearing it. She’d steam the jacket first and then sit in a chair in front of him and steam his pants [trousers].” On the plane, the future president would insist that Elton John music be played so loudly his staff “could not hear themselves think”. The US leader is known to be a fan of the British singer songwriter, although the admiration is not mutual.
Mr Lewandowski was fired in June 2016. It was Mr Trump’s son, Donald Jr, who pulled the trigger, he said.
The book comes after a difficult week for the president which saw Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, admit that he lied to the FBI over Russia. Mr Trump appeared to state he knew of the lying in a tweet that was claimed to be obstruction of justice, technically a criminal offence. It later emerged John Dowd, his lawyer, authored the tweet.
But Mr Trump continued his attack on the FBI regardless, tweeting: “Its reputation is in Tatters – worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness.”