Trump Confirms He’s Under Investigation, Blames Unnamed Person

President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 5, 2017, during a ceremony to announce the Air Traffic Control Reform Initiative. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Donald Trump admitted to being under investigation Friday, in a perplexing tweet that assigned blame for the investigation to “the man who told me to fire the FBI Director.”

It is unclear to whom Trump is referring: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote memos supportive of ousted FBI Director James Comey’s firing. Trump himself said after the firing that he had made up his mind to fire Comey regardless of Sessions’ and Rosenstein’s arguments.

Rosenstein also chose special counsel Robert Mueller to lead the federal investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 investigation, including possible collusion or coordination with Trump associates.

In his letter to Comey announcing his firing on May 9, Trump thanked the ousted FBI Director for “informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation.” Comey confirmed in sworn testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8 that he had told Trump he was not under investigation — a point Trump celebrated loudly after Comey’s testimony.

On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Mueller’s probe expanded to include possible obstruction of justice by Trump days after Comey’s firing.

On Thursday, Trump hinted at the reported investigation being mounted against him:

This post has been updated.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: