Donald Trump lashes out angrily on Twitter, after the latest revelation of Russia interference in the 2016 election overshadows his visit to the UK and complicates his Monday summit with Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, as Trump was being received by Queen Elizabeth II — and as hundreds of thousands were on UK streets protesting his visit — Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed an indictment against 12 Russian military intelligence officials over hacking and dissemination of information to damage Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and aid Trump.
The indictment mentions, although not by name, the involvement of WikiLeaks and contact between a Russian hacker and Trump advisor Roger Stone.
Information in the indictment complements other claims, including an assertion by Republican operative Peter Smith last year that he tried to contact Russiah hackers on behalf of senior Trump campaign staffer Michael Flynn.
In his Saturday tweets, Trump — in contrast to his normal “NO COLLUSION” declarations, did not deny the possibility. Instead, his criticism was that the Obama Administration had not moved quickly enough to investigate the links in 2016.
The stories you heard about the 12 Russians yesterday took place during the Obama Administration, not the Trump Administration. Why didn’t they do something about it, especially when it was reported that President Obama was informed by the FBI in September, before the Election?
Later in the day, Trump tried again:
These Russian individuals did their work during the Obama years. Why didn’t Obama do something about it? Because he thought Crooked Hillary Clinton would win, that’s why. Had nothing to do with the Trump Administration, but Fake News doesn’t want to report the truth, as usual!
Friday’s indictment not only overtook Trump’s mission in Europe, including efforts to undermine NATO and the European Union, but shattered his presentation of the meeting with Putin.
Hours earlier, as he stood beside UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump told reporters, “I call it the rigged witch hunt. I think that really hurts our country and it really hurts our relationship with Russia.”
He presented Putin as a partner, despite the election allegations and despite other concerns such as Russia’s annexation of Crimea and possible involvement in a nerve agent attack on UK soil: “They are a massive power and we are a very big power.”
Later on Friday, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, compared the danger of Russian cyberattacks to terrorist threats against the US before September 11, 2001. He said Putin should be held responsible for them.
