Tweets renew fears of axing probe’s leader
Trump attacks investigation, labels it a ‘witch hunt’
WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump attacked on social media a top official in his own Justice Department on Friday, and in the process appeared to confirm reports that he is under investigation for obstruction of justice.
It was the latest example of the president moving to publicly undermine an investigation he has criticized as politically motivated.
But Trump’s confrontational style has also renewed fears that he may attempt to derail the probe by firing those leading it.
In one of a series of morning tweets, Trump said he was “being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.”
Trump appeared to be pointing to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who last month named Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Mueller has expanded that investigation to include whether Trump attempted to obstruct the probe by firing former FBI Director James Comey.
Rosenstein told a Senate panel this week he hasn’t spoken to Mueller about the substance of the investigation since he appointed him, adding Mueller should make his own determinations on what is within the scope of it.
Rosenstein appointed Mueller after Trump fired Comey, a decision the White House initially said was based on a memo written by Rosenstein outlining concerns about Comey’s leadership — but which never explicitly recommended his termination, despite what the president’s tweet Friday suggests.
Trump told NBC News in aninterview last month that he was planning to fire Comey anyway, independent of Rosenstein’s memo.
White House officials would not comment on whether Trump was confirming a possible obstruction of justice case against him or commenting on the reports of one, referring all questions to his personal attorney.
But it was another example of Trump commenting about the larger probe in a way that frustrates his personal attorneys and administration officials.
It also comes amid speculation that Trump is considering firing Mueller—a course of action congressional Republicans are widely advising against, though some Trump allies, like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, support.
Trump’s Friday tweet seemingly referring to Rosenstein, who was appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Republicanled Senate overwhelmingly earlier this year, comes after the deputy attorney general issued a cryptic statement Thursday night advising Americans to “exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous ‘officials.’ ”
That statement appeared to be linked to a separate report that Mueller is also investigating the business dealings of the president’s son-in-law, senior adviser Jared Kushner.
Also Friday, the Justice Department said Rosenstein sees no reason to recuse himself from supervising Mueller.
Trump’s latest tweets have Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., concerned that he will try to fire both Mueller and Rosenstein.
Feinstein stressed that only Rosenstein has the authority to fire Mueller, not the president.
“If the president thinks he can fire Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and replace him with someone who will shut down the investigation, he’s in for a rude awakening. Even his staunchest supporters will balk at such a blatant effort to subvert the law,” Feinstein said in a statement.
Trump also is outlining the financial health of the business assets he placed into a trust when he took office. The information comes in a new financial disclosure he voluntarily made Friday to the Office of Government Ethics. The documents cover January 2016 through this spring.
The report shows Trump resigned from more than 500positions, many of them a day before his inauguration as president. Trump listed at least $315million in liabilities, about the same as in a report he filed last year.
The documents have added importance because Trump isn’t following the tradition of presidential candidates and office-holding of making public his tax returns. Those returns provide more complete financial information than the personal financial disclosures, which only include broad ranges for income and debts.