WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Monday accused Democrats of making up allegations that Russia interfered in last year’s election, and said Congress and the FBI should be going after media leaks and maybe even Hillary Clinton instead.
His tweets came just hours before a potentially politically damaging hearing in which FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers planned to testify on allegations of Russian hacking and whether there were any connections between Moscow and Trump’s campaign.
“The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign. Big advantage in Electoral College & lost!” Trump tweeted early Monday, as news coverage on the Russia allegations dominated the morning’s cable news.
“The real story that Congress, the FBI and others should be looking into is the leaking of Classified information. Must find leaker now!”
He also suggested, without evidence, that Clinton’s campaign was in contact with Russia and had possibly thwarted a federal investigation. U.S. intelligence officials have not raised the possibility of contacts between the Clintons and Moscow, saying only that they believe Moscow had hacked into Democrats’ computers in a bid to help Trump’s election bid.