Trump decries ‘single greatest witch hunt’ in U.S. history
President Donald Trump decried the appointment of a special counsel to lead the Russia probe as “the single greatest witch hunt” in U.S. history on Thursday, hours after he said he looked forward to a thorough investigation.
In the face of rising pressure from Capitol Hill, the U.S. Justice Department named former FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Moscow.
Trump said in a statement on Wednesday night that “a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know – there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity.”
In a pair of Twitter posts on Thursday morning, Trump made clear he was unhappy with the latest development to roil his four-month-old administration.
“With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special counsel appointed!” Trump wrote, misspelling the word counsel as he referred to former President Barack Obama and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”
The comments mirrored a speech by Trump on Wednesday, before Mueller’s appointment was announced, in which he said no politician in history “has been treated worse or more unfairly.”
The decision to move to an independent probe came a week after Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, sparking a political firestorm as the agency was in the midst of an investigation into the Russia matter. Trump cited displeasure with the Russia probe as a factor in dismissing Comey.
