President lashes out at officials involved in Russia probe

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump suggested Monday that key officials involved in the Russia probe were engaged in “treasonous” behavior.

Mr. Trump lashed out on Twitter at former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whose new book details his concerns about potential foreign influence over the president, and current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who initiated special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Mr. McCabe, who was fired last year by the FBI, described Mr. Rosenstein as having raised the prospect of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office.

Mr. Trump tweeted: “Wow, so many lies by now disgraced acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. He was fired for lying, and now his story gets even more deranged. He and Rod J. Rosenstein, who was hired by Jeff Sessions (another beauty), look like they were planning a very illegal act, and got caught. This was the illegal and treasonous ‘insurance policy’ in full action!”

Fox News Channel contributor Dan Bongino appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning and said of the McCabe interview, “What was laid out last night ... was a coup attempt on the president of the United States.”

Mr. Trump tweeted Mr. Bongino’s quote, adding, “True!”

Mr. McCabe also said in the interview that aired Sunday that a “crime may have been committed” when Mr. Trump fired the head of the FBI and tried to publicly undermine an investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia.

Mr. McCabe also said in the interview with “60 Minutes” that the FBI had good reason to open a counterintelligence investigation into whether Mr. Trump was in league with Russia, and therefore a possible national security threat, following the May 2017 firing of thenFBI Director James Comey.

“And the idea is, if the president committed obstruction of justice, fired the director of the FBI to negatively impact or to shut down our investigation of Russia’s malign activity and possibly in support of his campaign, as a counterintelligence investigator you have to ask yourself, “Why would a president of the United States do that?” Mr. McCabe said.

He added: “So all those same sorts of facts cause us to wonder is there an inappropriate relationship, a connection between this president and our most fearsome enemy, the government of Russia?”

Asked whether Mr. Rosenstein was onboard with the obstruction and counterintelligence investigations, Mr. McCabe replied, “Absolutely.”