Trump Denies He Ever Worked For Russia
Addressing
reporters at the White House as he left for Louisiana, he said: "I never
worked for Russia."
He
denied a Washington Post report that he had concealed a translation of a
meeting with Mr Putin.
According
to the New York Times meanwhile, the FBI launched a hitherto unreported inquiry
into the president.
According to the
newspaper, the FBI 's suspicions were raised after Mr Trump fired its director,
James Comey, in May 2017.
That
FBI investigation, reports the New York Times, was taken over by justice
department special counsel Robert Mueller.
Mr
Mueller is leading an ongoing investigation into whether the Trump campaign
colluded with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Asked
outside the White House on Monday if he was working for Russia, Mr Trump denied
it outright before adding: "I think it's a disgrace that you even ask that
question because it's a whole big fat hoax."
The
Republican president was asked the same question by a Fox News host on
Saturday, and called it "insulting".
The
New York Times notes in its own report no evidence has emerged publicly that Mr
Trump took direction from Russian government officials.
It was also reported
at the weekend that Mr Trump had confiscated the notes of his own interpreter
after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According
to the Washington Post, the US president ordered the translator not to discuss
the details of what was said.
But
on Monday, Mr Trump insisted that nothing untoward happened during his
discussions with Mr Putin on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany,
in July 2017.
"It's
a lot of fake news," said Mr Trump. "That was a very good meeting. It
was actually a very successful meeting."
He
said he and Mr Putin discussed Israel and a German-Russian pipeline, adding:
"We have those meetings all the time no big deal."
ABC
News reports that Democratic congressmen are considering issuing subpoenas to
interpreters who attended Mr Trump's meetings with Mr Putin.
A sitting US
president has never been publicly asked if he is - knowingly or unwittingly - a
Russian agent. Until now.
For
Donald Trump's critics, this is but one more indication of the uncharted
territory the US is in, as the nearly two-year-long investigation into possible
ties between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia grinds along.
For
Mr Trump's defenders - and the president himself - it is only the latest
indignity the man has been subjected to by enemies intent on undermining his
administration and discrediting his electoral victory. On Monday he called
questions about his Russia ties a "disgrace"
Those
questions aren't going away, however. Stories like the one in the Washington
Post this weekend outlining efforts the president made to conceal information
about his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin will only stoke the
flames of interest.
Rumours
abound that Robert Mueller's special counsel team could issue a final report as
soon as next month. It may set out the case against the president and his team
or offer them vindication.
Until
then, it's all a scramble to gain the high ground for the coming battles.
Having taken over
the House of Representatives this month, the Democrats are flexing their
political muscles.
Lawmakers
have invited Mr Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to testify before a
congressional committee next month, and have warned the president not to
interfere.
In
a joint statement, congressmen Elijah Cummings, Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler
said Mr Trump must not try to "discourage, intimidate or otherwise
pressure" his former personal fixer.
In
December, Mr Cohen admitted arranging hush money payments to Mr Trump's alleged
lovers, blaming his former boss for leading him to "choose the path of
darkness".
He
has agreed to appear publicly before the House Oversight Committee on 7
February.
FROM .bbc.com/news/world-us-canada
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