President Trump on Monday insisted his team did not collude with Russia, adding that alleged crimes committed by former campaign chairman Paul Manafort occurred “years ago.”
In a pair of tweets, the president said the charges against his ex-campaign chief were related to his actions before he “was part of the Trump campaign” and asked “why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????”
“Also, there is NO COLLUSION!” he tweeted.
Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2017
….Also, there is NO COLLUSION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2017
The tweets were Trump’s first response to the charges filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, a significant escalation of the Russia probe that has cast a cloud over Trump’s presidency.