Trump denies he ever worked for Russia against American interest
● US president answers question dodged in earlier television interview
US president Donald Trump has denied he ever worked for Russia, answering a question he declined to directly address over the weekend.
Speaking from the South Lawn yesterday before departing the White House for New Orleans, Mr Trump called former FBI and Justice Department officials “known scoundrels” and “dirty cops”.
He was reacting to a New York Times report that law enforcement officials started investigating in 2017 whether Mr Trump had been working on behalf of Russia against US interests.
“I never worked for Russia,” Mr Trump said. The president did not directly answer the question in a Saturday Fox News interview.
“I think it’s the most insult ing thing I’ve ever been asked,” Mr Trump told Jeanine Pirro, a personal friend.
“I think it’s the most insulting article I’ve ever had written and if you read the article you’ll see that they found absolutely nothing.”
Mr Trump went on to assert that no president had taken a harder stance against Russia than he had.
“If you ask the folks in Russia, I’ve been tougher on Russia than anybody else ... probably any other president, period, but certainly the last three or four presidents,” he said.
White house aid es expressed regret over the weekend the president did not more clearly and forcefully deny being a Russian agent when asked by the usually friendly Fox News host, according to three White House aides and Republicans close to the White House.
Mr Trump also defended his decision to fire FBI director James Comey – a move that has drawn the scrutiny of special counsel Robert Mueller. The president called the Russia probe “a whole big fat hoax”.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meanwhile said Mr Trump’s threat to devastate Nato ally Turkey’s economy if it attacks Us-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria underscored America’s commitment to its partners.
Mr Trump on Sunday tweeted the US would “attack again from existing nearby base if it [Islamic State] reforms”. “[We] will devastate turkey economically if they hit Kurds ,” he continued.
Mr Pompeo said he had yet to speak to Turkish officials or Mr Trump about the presi-
dent’s tweeted threat. He said he assumed Mr Trump was referring to the imposition of sanctions should Turkey take military action against the Kurds in Syria, who are US allies in the fight against the Islamic State group. Turkey regards the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as terrorists.
Mr Trump offered no specifics on how the US could hurt Turkey’s economy and his announcement appeared to catch his advisers by surprise.
His decision to leave Syria, which he initially said would be rapid but later slowed shocked US allies and angered the Syrian Kurds.
Speaking from Riyadh, Mr Pompeo said the US message on the Kurds had been straightforward and unchanged since the president made the decision to withdraw US troops from Syria last month.
“The administration has been very consistent with respect to our requirement that the Turks not go after the Kurds in ways that are inappropriate,” Mr Pompeo said.
“If they are terrorists, we’re all about taking down extremists wherever we find them. I think the president’s comments this morning are consistent with that.”
Mr Trump’s tweet drew a sharp response from Ankara.
The Turkish lira lost some 0.84 per cent of its value against the dollar yesterday.
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu rebuked Mr Trump, saying strategic partners did not speak to each other through social media.
“You cannot achieve anything with economic threats,” he said.