Trump: Podesta exit is ‘biggest story’

President Trump on Tuesday claimed the exit of Democratic super-lobbyist Tony Podesta from his firm — and not the indictment of his former campaign chairman — was Monday’s “biggest story.”

In a string of tweets, Trump pushed to shift attention away from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election meddling and on to the activities of Hillary Clinton allies.

“The biggest story yesterday, the one that has the Dems in a dither, is Podesta running from his firm,” the president tweeted Tuesday morning. 

“What he know about Crooked Dems is earth shattering,” Trump continued. “He and his brother could Drain The Swamp, which would be yet another campaign promise fulfilled. Fake News weak!”

Podesta’s brother, John Podesta, chaired Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. 

Tony Podesta stepped down from the lobbying firm he has run for three decades Monday after Mueller charged former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his top deputy, Richard Gates, with crimes related to his work for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. 

The indictment described Manafort’s efforts to hide his lobbying on behalf of the Party of Regions. 

One of the companies Manafort is accused of enlisting to help with the effort is reportedly Podesta Group, which did work for the group European Centre for a Modern Ukraine.

Trump suggested Podesta’s decision to leave the firm fulfilled his campaign promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington. 

But some Trump allies worry there may be serious repercussions from Monday’s indictments. 

Legal experts believe Mueller could use the charges to extract information from Manafort and Gates about whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow during last year’s election.

There are also indications George Papadopoulos, another Trump campaign adviser who pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his Russia contacts, is cooperating with Mueller’s probe.