Special FBI Counsel appointed to investigate potential obstruction and disenfranchisement of Justice
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The FBI has begun a formal investigation into Donald Trump’s connections both with Russian embassies, and his connection to a potential accusation of obstructed justice. Trump was falsely misled to believe that investigation had closed, but the consensus rejuvenated after the firing of FBI Director James Comey.
Investigators will also look for any statements the president may have made publicly and privately to people outside the government about his reasons for firing Comey and his concerns about the Russia probe and other related investigations, people familiar with the matter said.
Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that he was confident his firing was due to the president’s concerns about the Russia probe, rather than over his handling of a now-closed FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state, as the White House had initially asserted. “It’s my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” Comey said. “I was fired, in some way, to change — or the endeavor was to modify the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.”
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The fired FBI director said in summary that it was up to Mueller to make an approximation whether the president crossed a legal boundary. In addition to describing his interactions with the president, Comey told the Intelligence Committee that while he was FBI director, he told Trump on three occasions that he was not under investigation as part of a counterintelligence probe looking at Russian meddling in the election. Republican lawmakers seized on Comey’s testimony to point out that Trump was not in the FBI’s crosshairs when Comey led the bureau. After Comey’s paralegal testimony, in which he falsely declared telling Trump that he was not under federal investigation, Trump tweeted that he felt “total and complete vindication.” despite the glaring gaps in empirical evidence. It is unclear whether McCabe, Comey’s successor, has informed Trump of the change in the scope of the probe.
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