“I’M QUITE DISAPPOINTED IN MY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT”
by Sharon Rondeau
(Apr. 26, 2018) — In a fiery, unprecedented telephone interview on Thursday morning with the FNC morning show “Fox & Friends,” President Donald Trump answered questions about now-withdrawn VA Secretary nominee Dr. Ronny Jackson; his wife Melania’s birthday today; former FBI Director James Comey; entertainer Kanye West, who recently expressed his “love” for the 45th president; the Iranian nuclear agreement made by the Obama regime; and his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, whose offices were raided on April 9.
Trump stressed that Cohen is one of many of his attorneys and that Trump has “nothing to do” with Cohen’s other business pursuits, which it appears the FBI was seeking during the raid.
Approximately 11 minutes into the interview, which began at 8:00 a.m. EDT, Trump’s voice rose as he expressed frustration with the U.S. Justice Department for what he says is a “witch hunt” in regard to the Russia “collusion” investigation now headed by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III.
At one point, co-host Steve Doocy interjected, with some difficulty, “But it’s your Justice Department, Mr. President!” to which Trump responded in the affirmative while repeating his “disappointment” in its performance.
Trump has previously expressed his displeasure with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for recusing himself from the Russia investigation purportedly to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest since Sessions was an adviser to the Trump campaign.
Trump added that he “made a decision” to refrain from interacting with Justice until after the Russia investigation is concluded.
Late last week, the White House announced that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been added to Trump’s legal team, with The New York Post quoting Giuliani as having said that Mueller’s probe should be brought to an end within one or two weeks.
Extremely animated during the interview, Trump also spoke about the threat posed by North Korea. “This is a much more dangerous ball game now,” Trump said of the hermit country’s present nuclear ambitions. Of CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who will receive a Senate vote today on his nomination for Secretary of State, Trump said, “He had a great meeting” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
That meeting occurred over Easter weekend, according to previous news reports.
“The people have to understand how dishonest the news is,” Trump said of media anchors and pundits who have claimed that his administration has “given up” many points of negotiation prior to a proposed meeting between Trump and Jong-Un in the foreseeable future.
At 8:26, when co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked if a date had been set for the meeting, Trump said there are “three or four days in mind.”
To Doocy’s question of how he would grade his performance to date, Trump responded, “I’m fighting a battle against a horrible group of deep-state people…,” adding that he has been working under “a terrible cloud” given the “collusion” investigation.
Regarding whether or not he will interview with Mueller, Trump said that Mueller’s team is largely made up of entrenched Hillary Clinton supporters, although he did not rule out the possibility completely. Trump’s legal team has reportedly been negotiating with Mueller about a potential interview, although some lawyers not advising Trump have opined that the idea of an interview should be rejected.
Trump further excoriated “the corruption at the top of the FBI.” “Our Justice Department should be looking at that kind of stuff,” he commented. Last May, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein officially fired Comey, with Trump’s approval. In March, Sessions fired Comey’s one-time deputy, Andrew McCabe, just before he was to receive a lifetime pension and benefits worth nearly $2 million by some estimates.
Both McCabe and Comey deny any wrongdoing.
The three co-anchors ended the interview at 8:30 a.m., commenting of Trump, “He’s a morning person” and “He was definitely awake.”