(Getty)
President Donald Trump doubled-down on a tweet earlier in the day Thursday and called the ongoing federal investigation against his campaign a “witch hunt.”
Trump was giving a joint press conference with Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos when it was opened up for questions from reporters.
The first one was by ABC News’ Jon Karl, who asked Trump what he thought about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointing a special investigator to the FBI investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump said that he “respects” the move, but believes that it’s been a “witch hunt.” He added that there’s been absolutely “no collusion” in the matter and that the investigation “hurts our country terribly.”
Watch a video of Trump’s remarks at the press conference below:
Pres. Trump to @jonkarl on appointment of special counsel for Russia probe: “I respect the move but the entire thing has been a witch hunt”
Trump’s words come after he sent out a tweet Thursday morning calling the surrounding investigation of his administration “the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history.”
This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!
With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special counsel appointed!
Trump also said at the press conference that he was close to choosing a new FBI director to replace James Comey, who was fired May 9. Former vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman is reportedly one of the top candidates.
The comments by Trump come one day after he released a brief statement following the Department of Justice naming former director Robert Mueller as its special counsel.
“A thorough investigation will confirm what we already know — there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity,” the president said.
A couple hours before Trump took the podium with Santos, he met with news anchors at the White House and called the appointment of Mueller a “very, very negative thing.”