Washington – U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the FBI on Friday for failing to stop leaks of national security information to the media and directed the agency to find those who pass on classified information.
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Trump’s comments come amid media reports saying the FBI refused a White House request to knock down news stories saying members of Trump’s team were in frequent contact with Russian intelligence agents during the presidential campaign.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the nation’s top law enforcement agency, did not answer a request for comment on Trump’s remarks on Twitter.
“The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security ‘leakers’ that have permeated our government for a long time. They can’t even find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW,” Trump wrote.
News reports by CNN and The Associated Press said White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus asked Andrew McCabe, the FBI deputy director, to deny a Feb. 14 New York Times report that said Trump’s presidential campaign advisers had been in frequent contact with Russian intelligence officers. The request came after McCabe told him privately the report was wrong.
A senior administration official said on Friday that FBI Director James Comey also told Priebus later the story was not accurate. Priebus asked if the FBI could set the record straight, but Comey said the bureau could not comment.
Priebus asked if he could say intelligence officials assured him the story was inaccurate, and Comey said he could, the official told reporters.
The FBI is investigating Russian interference in the Nov. 8 U.S. election. FBI counterintelligence agents are also examining financial transactions by Russian individuals and companies who are believed to have links to Trump associates.
“There are investigations that are going on and those investigations must find out exactly what Russia was doing in the United States,” Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN on Friday.
“We need a complete investigation and we certainly don’t want the White House at all trying to influence that investigation.”
U.S. Representative John Conyers said any White House attempt to influence the FBI was “deeply troubling.”
“The White House is simply not permitted to pressure the FBI to make public statements about a pending investigation of the President and his advisors,” Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in late on Thursday.
Nixon 1972 tried to stop leaks with “the Plumbers”, which led to Watergate and his resigning in disgrace (or he would have been impeached & removed). With all the enemies Trumpee has made in the intelligence community and throughout all Federal agencies, he can’t stop the waterfall of leaks against him. Now he’s working with Czar P-Utin to stop the leaks, and trying to stifle the FBI from investigating him? What a hoont he is, screwing up more every day— since DAY ONE!
Well, the people in the FBI took an oath to protect the Constitution, and I suppose there are quite a few people in Washington who see leaking as part of that. You will notice the President is not Tweeting about the contacts with Russia. He Tweets about the fact that the contacts are public.
What business does a president have meddling in an investigation that surrounds his closest advisors?
What? Are we supposed to act surprised?