President Trump confirms he is under investigation, calls out the Justice Department in a tweet

The president tweeted Friday that the man who recommended firing James Comey is now investigating him for that act

Published June 16, 2017 10:24AM (EDT)

James Comey; Robert Mueller; Donald Trump (Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff/Alex Wong / Staff/Darren McCollester /Stringer)
James Comey; Robert Mueller; Donald Trump (Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff/Alex Wong / Staff/Darren McCollester /Stringer)

President Donald Trump, who has developed a habit of interrupting conversations in order to tell people he is not under investigation, abruptly revealed in a tweet Friday that he was indeed being investigated.

The message was somewhat ambiguous considering the president did not name "the man" he was referring to. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is currently handling the FBI's Russia investigation as a special counsel. The scope of his probe has been thought to include determining whether there has been obstruction of justice by the White House.

Trump confirmed in his tweet Friday morning that his firing of James Comey had triggered an investigation into possible obstruction of justice. But it was unclear if Mueller was "the man" Trump referred to in the tweet as having advised him to fire Comey.

President Trump was likely referring to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who wrote a brief outlining why Comey should no longer be the FBI director, which was later used to justify his firing. This dismissal prompted Rosenstein to appoint Mueller as a special counsel overseeing the Russia probe.

When Politico reporter Allan Smith asked the White House to clarify whom Trump was specifically referring to in his tweet, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy White House press secretary, referred him to Trump's personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz.

Rumors have spread throughout Washington that Trump has already considered firing Mueller from his special counsel post. His advisers have warned him, however, that any tampering with Mueller's investigation will only worsen the obstruction of justice case against the president.


By Taylor Link

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