Trump attacks Mueller as a 'true never-Trumper' after admitting for first time that Russia helped elect him
President Donald Trump on Thursday attacked special counsel Robert Mueller while speaking to reporters outside the White House, calling him a "true never-Trumper" and saying that he never should've been tapped as special counsel.
"I think Mueller is a true never-Trumper," the president said.
Trump's comments came one day after Mueller's first public remarks on his nearly two-year Russia investigation. Mueller said on Wednesday that if his team "had confidence that (Trump) clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so."
Earlier Thursday, Trump tweeted that he had "nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected." But he walked back that statement while speaking to reporters shortly after the tweet, saying that "Russia did not help me get elected."
"I helped me get elected," Trump said. "Russia had nothing to do with it at all."
Responding to Trump's earlier tweet, George Conway, a conservative attorney, frequent Trump critic and husband of top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, made note of Trump "finally" admitting that Russia sought to boost his candidacy.
"Well, that’s what the investigation was about," Conway wrote. "The investigation found plenty of evidence that Russia did just that. It thus wasn’t a 'Witch Hunt' or 'Hoax.' So why did you repeatedly try to obstruct it?"
In Mueller's 400-plus-page report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by the president, the special counsel detailed Russia's extensive efforts to boost Trump's candidacy and harm 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton through social media campaigns and by targeted email hacking and releases.
Mueller documented multiple contacts between Trump campaign officials and associates with Russians, but wrote that the evidence was not enough to establish a broader Trump-Russia conspiracy.
As talk in Congress of starting the process to remove the president has ramped up following Mueller's statement, Trump called impeachment a "dirty, filthy, disgusting word."
"It was high crimes and misdemeanors," Trump said. "There was no high crime or there was no misdemeanor? How do you impeach based on that?"
The president also said he hopes that his efforts to investigate the investigators — how the probe against him got started and what was it based on — will be remembered as his "greatest achievement, exposing all this corruption." Attorney General William Barr is currently reviewing the origins of the Russia investigation and the inspector general is examining the conduct of the FBI.
On Thursday, Trump said he thought Mueller's statement was "the same as" Mueller's report. Trump also said he believed the special counsel was "certainly conflicted" because of a "business dispute" the president claimed he had with Mueller.
Trump has mentioned an alleged business dispute for years since Mueller was first tapped. According to Mueller's report, top Trump aides and advisers such as former White House Counsel Donald McGahn told Trump those perceived conflicts were "silly" and "not real."
Additionally, Trump told reporters Thursday that he would give a "big league" statement later in the day or Friday dealing with illegal border crossings.
"I'm not closing the borders, I'm doing something else," the president said.
President Donald Trump on Thursday attacked special counsel Robert Mueller while speaking to reporters outside the White House, calling him a "true never-Trumper" and saying that he never should've been tapped as special counsel.
"I think Mueller is a true never-Trumper," the president said.
Trump's comments came one day after Mueller's first public remarks on his nearly two-year Russia investigation. Mueller said on Wednesday that if his team "had confidence that (Trump) clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so."
Earlier Thursday, Trump tweeted that he had "nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected." But he walked back that statement while speaking to reporters shortly after the tweet, saying that "Russia did not help me get elected."
"I helped me get elected," Trump said. "Russia had nothing to do with it at all."
Responding to Trump's earlier tweet, George Conway, a conservative attorney, frequent Trump critic and husband of top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, made note of Trump "finally" admitting that Russia sought to boost his candidacy.
"Well, that’s what the investigation was about," Conway wrote. "The investigation found plenty of evidence that Russia did just that. It thus wasn’t a 'Witch Hunt' or 'Hoax.' So why did you repeatedly try to obstruct it?"
In Mueller's 400-plus-page report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by the president, the special counsel detailed Russia's extensive efforts to boost Trump's candidacy and harm 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton through social media campaigns and by targeted email hacking and releases.
Mueller documented multiple contacts between Trump campaign officials and associates with Russians, but wrote that the evidence was not enough to establish a broader Trump-Russia conspiracy.
As talk in Congress of starting the process to remove the president has ramped up following Mueller's statement, Trump called impeachment a "dirty, filthy, disgusting word."
"It was high crimes and misdemeanors," Trump said. "There was no high crime or there was no misdemeanor? How do you impeach based on that?"
The president also said he hopes that his efforts to investigate the investigators — how the probe against him got started and what was it based on — will be remembered as his "greatest achievement, exposing all this corruption." Attorney General William Barr is currently reviewing the origins of the Russia investigation and the inspector general is examining the conduct of the FBI.
On Thursday, Trump said he thought Mueller's statement was "the same as" Mueller's report. Trump also said he believed the special counsel was "certainly conflicted" because of a "business dispute" the president claimed he had with Mueller.
Trump has mentioned an alleged business dispute for years since Mueller was first tapped. According to Mueller's report, top Trump aides and advisers such as former White House Counsel Donald McGahn told Trump those perceived conflicts were "silly" and "not real."
Additionally, Trump told reporters Thursday that he would give a "big league" statement later in the day or Friday dealing with illegal border crossings.
"I'm not closing the borders, I'm doing something else," the president said.
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