WASHINGTON, D.C: — (01-12-19) — Late Friday night, the story broke that FBI officials had opened 2 probes into whether Donald Trump was working on behalf of the Russia government, according to The New York Times (Jan 10).

According to the Times report, the Trump investigation was a dual one; counterintelligence and a criminal probe. Both investigations in to Donald Trump were launched after the president fired veteran FBI director James Comey in May 2017.

The counterintelligence aspect of the investigation into Donald Trump consisted of determining whether he was knowingly or unknowingly working for Moscow and whether he was a threat to national security.

Anonymous sources added that the criminal portion of the investigation related to Trump’s firing of  former FBI Director James Comey.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a response to the New York Times report on Friday night — though her official statement didn’t exactly deny the report itself.

“This is absurd,” she wrote. “James Comey was fired because he’s a disgraced partisan hack, and his deputy Andrew McCabe, who was in charge at the time, is a known liar fired by the FBI.”

Sanders went on to say that Donald Trump has “actually been tough on Russia,” unlike former president Barack Obama.

The FBI investigators looked into whether Trump’s actions and behavior could be considered a threat to national security.

Both FBI investigations were quickly folded into Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 vote and possible collusion involving the Trump Campaign and Moscow intelligence officials. So far this reporter cannot get a confirmation nor a denial if the counterintelligence aspect of the investigation was still going on.

According to the New York Times, the FBI had been suspicious of Trump’s ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign. But it held off on opening an investigation until the president fired James Comey, who refused to swear his allegiance and roll back the nascent Russia investigation, which is now being spearheaded by Robert Mueller.

We will continue to follow this story and as new developments become available, we will bring them to you.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

Related News