Trump: Russia probe will find ‘no collusion’
President Trump voiced confidence Wednesday evening that a federal investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia will find no collusion, even after the appointment of a special counsel.
“As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know — there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity,” Trump said in a statement.
“I look forward to this matter concluding quickly,” he added. “In the meantime, I will never stop fighting for the people and the issues that matter most to the future of our country.”
The comments were Trump’s first following the Justice Department’s appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russia’s involvement in the U.S. presidential election.
Trump made no specific mention of Mueller’s appointment in his statement, which was issued by the White House press office.
Democrats had been clamoring for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint a special prosecutor in the wake of reports that fired FBI Director James Comey penned a memo documenting a request from Trump that he “let go” of the investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn.
Rosenstein had been overseeing the Russia probe after the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who stepped aside over his failure to disclose a meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak while the former Alabama senator was acting as a surrogate for Trump’s campaign.
“In my capacity as acting attorney general I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a special counsel to assume responsibility for the matter,” Rosenstein said in a statement.
“My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted,” he added. “I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.”
Updated 7:45 p.m.
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