More body blows to Trump and his administration
The White House was knocked on the defensive Monday ahead of its biggest week yet on Capitol Hill as F.B.I. Director James Comey confirmed the existence of an active investigation into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election, including whether there was any coordination with now-President Donald Trump’s team.
In another blow to Trump, Comey and National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers also publicly refuted his unsubstantiated claims on Twitter that President Barack Obama had ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower phones. The leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees had said last week that Trump’s allegations were untrue.
“I have no information that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the FBI,” Comey said.
The White House scrambled to contain the fallout, deploying two simultaneous war rooms, according to two people familiar with the arrangement, one in the Executive Office Building to monitor the Comey hearing and another satellite war room in the Senate offices to keep tabs on Gorsuch.
But any hopes in the West Wing for a split-screen day were dashed with the revelation of an active probe into campaign associates of the president. At the White House, televisions in the press offices played the Comey hearing as it ran live on all the cable networks.
“I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counter-intelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election,” Comey said, “And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government.”
Comey said the probe will “include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed.”
FBI’s Trump-Russia probe knocks White House on its heels
The White House was knocked on the defensive Monday ahead of its biggest week yet on Capitol Hill as F.B.I. Director James Comey confirmed the existence of an active investigation into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election, including whether there was any coordination with now-President Donald Trump’s team.
In another blow to Trump, Comey and National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers also publicly refuted his unsubstantiated claims on Twitter that President Barack Obama had ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower phones. The leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees had said last week that Trump’s allegations were untrue.
“I have no information that supports those tweets, and we have looked carefully inside the FBI,” Comey said.
The White House scrambled to contain the fallout, deploying two simultaneous war rooms, according to two people familiar with the arrangement, one in the Executive Office Building to monitor the Comey hearing and another satellite war room in the Senate offices to keep tabs on Gorsuch.
But any hopes in the West Wing for a split-screen day were dashed with the revelation of an active probe into campaign associates of the president. At the White House, televisions in the press offices played the Comey hearing as it ran live on all the cable networks.
“I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counter-intelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election,” Comey said, “And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government.”
Comey said the probe will “include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed.”
FBI’s Trump-Russia probe knocks White House on its heels
