Donald Trump lashes out at FBI in a series of tweets, says its reputation 'in tatters'
US President Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on the credibility of the FBI and again denied asking its former director, James Comey, to stop investigating his now disgraced ex-national security adviser.
In a series of tweets, Mr Trump questioned the direction of the FBI and claimed its reputation was "in Tatters — worst in History!".
"But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness," he tweeted.
Former US attorney-general Eric Holder immediately hit back at Mr Trump.
"The FBI's reputation is not in 'tatters'. It's composed of the same dedicated men and women who have always worked there and who do a great, apolitical job," he wrote on Twitter.
"You'll find integrity and honesty at FBI headquarters and not at 1600 Penn Ave right now."
External Link: Donald Trump tweet: I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!
Mr Trump seized on reports that a veteran FBI counterintelligence agent was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russian election meddling because of anti-Trump text messages.
The agent, Peter Strzok, had also worked on the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.
External Link: Donald Trump tweet: Tainted (no, very dishonest?) FBI “agent’s role in Clinton probe under review.” Led Clinton Email probe. @foxandfriends Clinton money going to wife of another FBI agent in charge.
External Link: Donald Trump tweet: Report: “ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT LED CLINTON EMAIL PROBE” Now it all starts to make sense!
Mr Mueller's spokesman said Mr Strzok was removed from the team "immediately upon learning of the allegations". He would not elaborate on the nature of the accusations.
The US President and many of his supporters have at times sought to discredit the integrity of the investigation, in part by claiming a close relationship between Mr Mueller and Mr Comey and by pointing to political contributions to Democrats made by some lawyers on the team.
The Russia conspiracy theory doesn't add up
A murder, the IT rip-off and a mysterious man in a photo. It's the "counter-narrative" to the Russian hacking theory, writes John Barron.
Mr Mueller has been investigating whether Trump campaign associates coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump tweets into trouble
Michael Flynn is cooperating with the FBI, but what Trump says or tweets, may be more telling, Zoe Daniel writes.
The investigation has so far netted charges against four people, with the most recent criminal case brought when former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
Democrats said the developments suggested growing evidence of coordination between Mr Trump's circle and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN the President "has been obsessed with this investigation, always saying there's nothing there".
"But each week, another shoe drops, where we see more evidence of continuing outreach from Russians and some response from the Trump campaign and Trump individuals," he sad.
Trump's lawyer takes responsibility for Flynn tweet
Michael Flynn is photographed by paparazzi and confronted by a protester with a sign reading "Lock him up" Photo: Mr Flynn has said the decision to plead guilty was in the best interests of his family and of the country. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
Meanwhile, Mr Trump's lawyer claimed to be the author of a presidential tweet which suggested Mr Trump was aware Flynn had lied to the FBI when he sacked him in February.
External Link: @realdonaldtrump: "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice Preisdent and the FBI"
Lawyer John Dowd said the tweet was "my mistake".
"I'm out of the tweeting business," Mr Dowd told Axios.
"I did not mean to break news."
On Saturday Mr Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the federal investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Flynn, a former senior member of Trump's campaign team, admitted in a courtroom in downtown Washington that he gave false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in January about his contacts the previous month with Russia's then ambassador, Sergei Kislyak.
Mr Flynn also agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the election, led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
The plea deal marked a major escalation in a probe that has dogged Mr Trump's administration since he took office in January
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
u doppersneck, but Trump is just one of them. If he isn't a globalist, why would he attack Syria? It's because he's bought out.
