Trump accuses Obama of inaction over Russia
President blames his predecessor for not doing enough on Russian election meddling; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'
President Trump on Wednesday again dinged Attorney General Jeff Sessions, this time asking why the Democrats in the Obama administration aren’t being investigated as part of the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“Question: If all of the Russian meddling took place during the Obama Administration, right up to January 20th, why aren’t they the subject of the investigation?” Trump tweeted.
Trump added: “Why didn’t Obama do something about the meddling? Why aren’t Dem crimes under investigation? Ask Jeff Sessions!”
Sessions, because of his role on the Trump campaign, recused himself from the special counsel's Russia probe months ago – a move that angered Trump and has caused him to lash out at his attorney general over and over.
The Sessions recusal, followed by Trump's firing of James Comey at the FBI, paved the way for the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel.
Trump’s tweet comes after a federal grand jury on Friday indicted 13 Russians and three Russian companies for allegedly interfering in the 2016 presidential election, in a case brought by Mueller that detailed a sophisticated plot to wage “information warfare” against the U.S.
13 RUSSIAN NATIONALS INDICTED FOR INTERFERING IN US ELECTIONS
The Russian nationals are accused of setting a “strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election.”
The indictment – the first filed against Russian nationals as part of Mueller’s probe – effectively returned focus to the meddling activities out of Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election, following a string of charges relating to the actions of Trump associates.
However, the 37-page indictment said the actions detailed by prosecutors date back to 2014.
Trump and Republican allies have seized on this to question whether the Obama administration did enough to head off their efforts -- even as Trump critics say the current president has been softer on Russia than Obama.
"Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President," Trump tweeted last week. "The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong - no collusion!"
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