John Matthews
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) The short statement released by the White House Wednesday night is no longer the official response of record regarding the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate Russia’s possible tampering in the 2016 Trump Campaign.
President Trump broke his Twitter silence with a pair of Tweets Thursday morning:
With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special councel appointed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2017
This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2017
In responding to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s decision to launch an independent investigation, President Trump is now criticizing the same Justice Department official he praised following the firing of then-FBI Director James Comey. The President had initially credited Rosenstein’s critical report of Comey as the grounds for Comey’s dismissal, before admitting in an NBC News interview he had already made a decision to fire Comey before accepting Rosenstein’s report.
“He made a recommendation,” Trump said of Rosenstein. “He’s highly respected, very good guy, very smart guy. The Democrats like him; the Republicans like him. He made a recommendation, but regardless of the recommendation, I was going to fire Comey.”
Rosenstein is headed to Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon to brief the Senate on his decision to appoint Mueller.
Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: White House)
