U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out on Twitter early on Thursday after a report that he was under investigation for possible obstruction of justice by the special counsel probing alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
U.S. President Donald Trump attacked what he called a “phony story” on Thursday after a report that he is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice by the special counsel probing alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
“They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice,” Trump wrote on Twitter, later repeating his accusation that the probe is a “witch hunt.”
The Washington Post, citing unidentified officials, on Wednesday reported that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice.
Trump added a follow-up tweet soon after, adding that Americans are witnessing “the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history” — a statement he previously made when Mueller was initially appointed as a special prosecutor.
Mueller took over the investigation after former FBI Director James Comey was fired. At his testimony in front of Congress last week, Comey said he believed Trump fired him as a result of how he was handling the Russia probe.
A spokesman for Trump’s attorney, Marc Kasowitz, questioned the legality of leaking information on the investigation in an interview with TIME, but did not deny the report.
Obstruction of justice is defined as someone who intentionally tampers with or intervenes with an ongoing investigation. At Comey’s testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, the former FBI director said Trump had asked him to stop investigating former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn. Comey did not say whether he thought Trump’s actions constituted an obstruction of justice, but said he was “sure” Mueller would investigate it.