(Getty)
In a series of Tweets Friday morning, President Donald Trump appeared to confirm that he is personally under investigation after firing FBI Director James Comey last month. “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt,” the president declared.
The Twitter-storm about witch hunts, the “fake news” media and the apparent reach of his social media presence was sparked by a Washington Post report that special counsel Robert S. Meuller III is investigating Trump for obstruction of justice. Here’s a look at the four tweets and what they could mean.
After 7 months of investigations & committee hearings about my “collusion with the Russians,” nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad!
In this first tweet, Trump suggests that there has been no proof of “collision with the Russians.” Seven months ago was November, when Trump was elected president.
Next, he again defended his constant use of social media outlets like Twitter, insisting that he has “over 100 million people” following him. He suggests that this is the best way for him to reach directly to the American people. Trump has 32.4 million followers for @RealDonaldTrump, and 18.8 million followers on @POTUS. The verified Trump Facebook page has 22.4 million followers, while the verified President Donald J. Trump page has just 1.7 million followers. The White House Instagram page has 3.6 million followers and The White House Facebook page has 8.25 million followers. If you add up all the followers for those pages, you get approximately 87.15 million.
Rod Rosenstein. (Getty)
In the next two tweets, Trump again claimed there was a “witch hunt” out against him. “Despite the phony Witch Hunt going on in America, the economic & jobs numbers are great. Regulations way down, jobs and enthusiasm way up,” he wrote.
Despite the phony Witch Hunt going on in America, the economic & jobs numbers are great. Regulations way down, jobs and enthusiasm way up!
Then, he confirmed that he is under investigation for firing Comey.
I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt
In the tweet, Trump also suggests that he is under investigation by the “man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.” This could be a reference to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein wrote the memo that the Administration said ultimately influenced Trump to fire Comey. However, Trump himself told NBC News’ Lester Holt that he planned to fire Comey anyway because of the Russia investigation. That also contradicted the White House’s narrative that Comey was fired because of his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation during the 2016 election.
Rosenstein is leading all Justice Department matters related to Russia hacking the 22016 election and alleged ties between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. Last month, the Justice Department hired Meuller as special counsel to investigate Trump.
On June 14, sources for the Washington Post confirmed that the scope of Rosenstein’s investigation has expanded to include a look into whether or not Trump obstructed justice. Prior to this, the investigation didn’t directly focus on Trump himself.
Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Trump once asked him to stop investigating former National Security Michael T. Flynn for Flynn’s ties to Russia.
The Washington Post also confirmed that Mueller’s investigation has also expanded to include a look into Jared Kushner’s financial and business dealings. Kushner is Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser. Mueller’s team is also looking into the financial dealings of others in the Trump orbit, including Flynn, his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and campaign adviser Carter Page.
