WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump briefly acknowledged in a tweet on Thursday that Russia helped him get elected but quickly backtracked in comments to reporters.Trump until now has said adamantly that he won the 2016 election fair and square, downplaying the impact of what US intelligence agencies say was a concerted Russian effort to meddle in his favour.“Russia, Russia, Russia! That’s all you heard at the beginning of this Witch Hunt Hoax,” Trump tweeted a day after Special Counsel Robert Mueller spoke publicly for the first time since the release of his report on collusion during the election campaign and possible obstruction of justice afterward.“And now Russia has disappeared because I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected,” Trump added. He again complained of being a victim of what he called presidential harassment.Trump later appeared to recognise the lapse, telling reporters on the White House South Lawn, “No, Russia did not get me elected.”Trump later hit out at Mueller, calling him a “never Trumper” who led a biased investigation on Russia’s interference and failed to investigate his opponents. Trump’s eruption came after Mueller pointedly rejected his repeated claims that he was cleared of obstruction of justice allegations and that the two-year inquiry was merely a “witch hunt”.The president also offered mixed messages on Russia’s efforts to help him defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton, first tweeting that he had “nothing to do with Russia helping me get elected”. Trump said Mueller, who is a Republican, was “conflicted” and should have investigated law enforcement officials who the president claims tried to undermine him.“Robert Mueller should have never been chosen,” Trump said, adding falsely that Mueller wanted the FBI director job, but the president told him no. “I think Mueller is a true never Trumper. He’s somebody who didn’t get a job that he wanted very badly.”Mueller, who was appointed special counsel by Trump’s Justice Department, was previously FBI director, appointed by Republican president George W Bush. Speaking to reporters on the White House South Lawn, Trump insisted he has been tough on Russia and that Moscow would have preferred Clinton as president.The special counsel’s report said Russian interference in the election helped Trump defeat Clinton. Asked about impeachment by Congress, Trump called it a “dirty word” and said he could not imagine the courts allowing him to be impeached. “I don’t think so because there’s no crime,” he said.
06-01-2019, 02:19 AM
Trump briefly acknowledges Russia helped him get elected
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