Trump denies asking FBI to drop Flynn probe

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US President Donald Trump denied Sunday having asked then FBI Director James Comey to stop investigating ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about discussions with Russia.

Trump also insisted he and his campaign had not colluded with Moscow in last year's election, and shifted blame on the Justice Department and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

"I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!" Trump said in a tweet.

Former US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn departs US District Court in Washington, December 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo

But his position was complicated by another Twitter post in which he indicated he had fired Flynn because the national security chief had been untruthful not just to Vice President Mike Pence but to the FBI as well.

"I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies," Trump said on Twitter while he was in New York for a fundraising trip. "It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!"

That comment appeared to indicate Trump was acknowledging he knew at the time of Flynn's firing in February that he had lied to the bureau's agents.

"If that is true, Mr. President, why did you wait so long to fire Flynn?" asked Representative Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. "Why did you fail to act until his lies were publicly exposed? And why did you pressure Director Comey to 'let this go?'"

White House officials, however, told The New York Times that Trump was only referencing Flynn's guilty plea for lying to the FBI about his conversations with then Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak over sanctions President Barack Obama slapped on Russia for election meddling.

And two people briefed on the matter said the Twitter post was in fact written by Trump's personal lawyer John Dowd, who apologized to the White House for the tactless language.

In May, the president fired Comey, who later accused Trump of trying to hinder his investigation into the Russia allegations. Comey also said he believed Trump had asked him to drop the FBI's probe into Flynn.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters