Trump calls for renewed Hillary probe in tweets, wishes he could give orders to DOJ and FBI
President Donald Trump/Shutterstock.com.
President Donald Trump is renewing his call for an investigation of Hillary Clinton in a series of tweets referencing new claims that she effectively gained control of the Democratic National Committee during the campaign.
“Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn’t looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems,” Trump tweeted. The Washington Post and the New York Times have stories.
Trump’s tweets reference claims by Donna Brazile, the former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee. Brazile says in a new book that Clinton had control of the party’s finances and staffing as a result of an agreement in which her campaign helped pay off party debt. The book was excerpted in Politico; NPR has a summary of Brazile’s claims.
Trump referred to the book as well as Clinton emails, the sale of uranium to Russia, and Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta. Podesta announced his resignation from the Podesta Group after the firm he co-founded was apparently referenced as a lobbyist for a Ukrainian client of Paul Manafort in the former Trump campaign chair’s indictment, the New York Times reported earlier this week.
Trump tweeted: “New Donna B book says she paid for and stole the Dem Primary. What about the deleted E-mails, Uranium, Podesta, the Server, plus, plus … People are angry. At some point the Justice Department, and the FBI, must do what is right and proper. The American public deserves it!”
Trump also commented on the relationship between the Justice Department and the office of the president in a radio interview on Thursday.
“You know, the saddest thing is, because I am the president of the United States I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department. I’m not supposed to be involved with the FBI. I’m not supposed to be doing the kind of things I would love to be doing and I am very frustrated by it,” he said.
The Washington Post explains that the president typically directs the Justice Department on broad policy goals, but the department has long sought to bar the White House from influencing specific investigations or prosecutions.
Trump told reporters on Friday that “a lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including me.”
“I’m really not involved with the Justice Department, I’d like to let it run itself,” he said. “But honestly, they should be looking at the Democrats.”
Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn't looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017
…New Donna B book says she paid for and stole the Dem Primary. What about the deleted E-mails, Uranium, Podesta, the Server, plus, plus…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017
….People are angry. At some point the Justice Department, and the FBI, must do what is right and proper. The American public deserves it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017
