Analysis: Trump again tries to pin the Mueller probe on Obama without providing evidence
By Philip Bump Philip Bump National correspondent focused largely on the numbers behind politics Email Bio Follow March 26 at 3:23 PM Speaking briefly to reporters on Capitol Hill, President Trump on Tuesday revisited a theory that he has offered before: The investigation into his 2016 campaign and possible links to Russia was initiated at the behest of Barack Obama.
We’ll note quickly that the assertion that there is, by definition, no conceivable way in which any even theoretically actions taken against Trump were treasonous. The more important assertion made by Trump is that Obama or his top aides were the ones pushing for an investigation, offering “instructions from ... high up.”
Strzok is the former FBI agent who launched the initial investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia in late July 2016. He worked for then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and then-FBI Director James B. Comey. All three have since resigned or been fired from the bureau. Shortly after that, Rep. Devin Nunes tried to bolster a broader interpretation of Trump’s claim — that Trump’s team broadly was surveilled — by revealing that Obama administration officials had sought to identify Americans who were speaking with overseas individuals. That included former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who later admitted lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
There is not evidence, in fact, that points concretely to Obama having any role in the genesis of the investigation into Trump’s campaign. Perhaps Trump has seen some. Or perhaps he’s making an unfounded insinuation.One possibility is that Trump believes it. He’s no stranger to promoting questionable conspiracy theories, and he’s clearly not a fan of his predecessor.
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