‘I’M BEING INVESTIGATED’
Trump decries ‘witch hunt’
President Trump appeared to confirm he is under federal investigation in the ongoing Russia probe as he yet again blasted the political “witch hunt” and insisted no evidence exists he colluded with the former Cold War adversary.
“I am being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director!” Trump tweeted yesterday. “Witch Hunt.”
Trump seemed to be taking a shot at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who’s overseeing the federal investigation (led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller) into Russian interference with the presidential campaign.
Although Rosenstein’s memo was extremely critical of former FBI Director James B. Comey, he technically did not formally recommend that Trump fire him. And the president himself admitted to NBC News he was going to terminate Comey regardless of Rosenstein’s opinion.
Still, Trump seemed to be raising the question of whether Rosenstein might have to recuse himself from the investigation — something Rosenstein discussed privately with colleagues, ABC News reported yesterday.
Rosenstein stepped in after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself earlier this year over previously undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.
But Trump’s tweet seemed to acknowledge that the federal investigation is indeed expanding from Russian hacking and collusion into possible obstruction of justice stemming from the president’s decision to fire Comey.
Mueller is reportedly interested in speaking with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers and former deputy Richard Ledgett. The Washington Post reported Mueller may be interested in a meeting in which Trump allegedly urged Rogers and Coats to convince Comey to back off the probe into ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
But Trump tried to remain on the offensive yesterday, charging on Twitter that investigators have so far turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.
“After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my ‘collusion with the Russians,’ nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!” Trump tweeted.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, financial disclosure forms that revealed he pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars in income last year.
That includes nearly $300 million from golf courses. He took in $37.2 million from Mar-A-Lago — where Trump has hosted foreign dignitaries — and $11 million from the Miss Universe pageant.
He also earned between $100,000 and $1 million — the form only requires he check a range — in royalties from his 1987 book “The Art of the Deal.”
The Trump International Hotel, which opened last fall just down the street from the White House, took in revenue of about $20 million. Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., where Trump has spent some weekends, also took in $20 million in income.