By Agence France-Presse
President Donald Trump blasted the FBI on Saturday, insisting it acted "for no reason & with no proof" when it opened an investigation into whether he was acting on Russia's behalf after he fired the agency's director, James Comey, in May 2017.
US President Donald Trump (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands on July 16, 2018 ahead of a meeting in Helsinki (AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)
The New York Times reported that the FBI launched the previously undisclosed counterintelligence investigation to determine whether Trump posed a national security threat, at the same time that it opened a criminal probe into possible obstruction of justice by the president.
The FBI investigation was subsequently folded into the broader probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and possible collaboration by the Trump campaign.
No evidence has publicly emerged that Trump was secretly in contact with or took direction from Russian officials, the Times said.
"Wow, just learned in the Failing New York Times that the corrupt former leaders of the FBI, almost all fired or forced to leave the agency for some very bad reasons, opened up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof, after I fired Lyin' James Comey, a total sleaze!" Trump tweeted.
According to Trump, "the FBI was in complete turmoil... because of Comey's poor leadership" and the way he handled the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private server to send some government emails.
"My firing of James Comey was a great day for America," Trump said, describing the former FBI director as "a Crooked Cop who is being totally protected by his best friend, Bob Mueller."
Asked in a late Saturday interview with Fox News whether he had ever worked for Russia, Trump replied: "I think it's the most insulting thing I've ever been asked... I think it the most insulting article I've ever had written and if you read the article, you’d see that they found absolutely nothing."