Trump: Russia question 'most insulting' he's faced
Democrats dispute claim ‘no one’s been tougher’ on Russia.
President WASHINGTON —
Donald Trump avoided directly answering when asked whether he currently is or has ever worked for Russia after a published report said law enforcement officials, concerned about his behavior after he fired FBI Director James Comey in 2017, had begun investigating that possibility.
Trump said it was the “most insulting” question he’d ever been asked.
The New York Times report Friday cited unnamed former law enforcement offi- cials and others familiar with the investigation.
Trump responded to the story Saturday during a tele- phone interview on Fox News Channel after host Jeanine Pirro, a personal friend, asked the Russia question.
“I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” Trump said. “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.”
Trump never answered Pirro directly, but went on to assert that no president has taken a harder stance against Russia than he has.
“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.”
Trump’s claim was disputed by Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said almost all the sanctions on Russia arose in Congress due to concerns by members of both parties about Moscow’s actions. Warner accused the White House of being slow to put the penalties in place.
The Times reported FBI agents and top officials became suspicious of Trump’s ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign but didn’t open an investigation because they weren’t sure how to approach the probe.
Trump’s behavior in the days around Comey’s May 2017 firing helped trigger the counterintelligence part of the probe, the Times said.
In the inquiry, investigators sought to evaluate whether Trump was a threat to national security. They also sought to determine whether Trump was delib- erately working for Russia or had unintentionally been influenced by Moscow.
Trump tweeted early Sat- urday that the report showe d the FBI leadership “open ed up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof ” after he fired Comey.
Robert Mueller took over the investigation when he was appointed special counsel soon after Comey’s firing. The Times says it’s unclear if Mueller is still pursuing the counterintelligence angle.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said the report “may well suggest what it was that helped start this investigation in the first place.” He and other Democratic senators said this report and others give new urgency to the need for the Mueller investigation to be allowed to run its course.
The Washington Post reported that Trump went to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin even from high-ranking officials in his own administration.