VOA常速英語：特朗普抨擊妨礙司法公正調(diào)查報道
WHITE HOUSE — U.S. President Donald Trump is assailing reports that the prosecutor investigating Russian meddling in last year's election is now probing whether he tried to obstruct justice in the case.
"They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice," Trump wrote sarcastically on his Twitter account Thursday.
They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017
In a second tweet, Trump said, "You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people!"
You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017
At an off-camera briefing for reporters, White House Principal Deputy Spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred questions about the president's latest tweets to Trump's personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz.
The tweets potentially could put the president in hot water legally.
"It looks grossly inappropriate for the president to be bad mouthing a special counsel investigation looking into his actions and that was created by his own deputy attorney general," said Bradley Moss, a lawyer specializing in litigation relating to national security, federal employment and security clearance law.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller likely "will be archiving these various Twitter rants as supplemental evidence" for the obstruction investigation, Moss told VOA.
Kasowitz spokesman Mark Corallo, in reacting to the news stories that prompted the president's tweets, said, "The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal."
Several news reports late Wednesday and on Thursday said Mueller plans to interview key U.S. national security officials about Trump's comments seeking an end to the investigation of contacts his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had with Russia's ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak.
Based on accounts of people familiar with the investigation, multiple news organizations said that Mueller plans to interview Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Michael Rogers and former NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett.
The reports say one focus of Mueller's investigation is presidential conversations with Coats and Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo in late March, in which Trump reportedly asked them to intervene with then-FBI Director James Comey to ask him to halt his probe of Flynn.
A day or two later, Trump reportedly called Coats and Rogers to ask them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence that Trump aides had illegally colluded with Russian officials to help Trump win the election.
According to the news accounts, neither Coats nor Rogers complied with Trump's requests. It was not known whether Ledgett talked with Trump, but he wrote an internal NSA document recounting Trump's request to Rogers.
Coats and Rogers told a Senate panel a week ago they did not feel pressured by Trump to intervene in the case, but declined to say what Trump asked them to do.
The former director of the Department of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, is scheduled to appear June 21 in an open session before the House of Representatives' intelligence committee, which is looking into Russian activity during the 2016 U.S. election campaign.
The Senate's intelligence committee already has interviewed Johnson about the matter.
The president fired Flynn in February after just 24 days on the job when he learned that the former Marine lieutenant general had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Ambassador Kislyak.
Trump fired Comey last month, saying "this Russia thing" was on his mind when he made the decision to oust the nation's top law enforcement official while Comey was leading the FBI's probe into Russia's meddling.
About a week later, Mueller, another former FBI director, was appointed, over Trump's opposition, as special counsel to lead the criminal probe.
The White House confirmed on Thursday that Mueller was interviewed — presumably about again running the FBI — the day before he was named as special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in last year's presidential election.
"In terms of a specific job, whether it was acting or permanent, I'm not sure and I'd have to check and get back to you," Sanders told reporters.
The president "would have been aware of the naming of a special counsel at that time," added Sanders.
News accounts this week said Trump was considering firing Mueller from his special counsel role, but the White House eventually said he does not plan to do so.
Comey testified before a Senate panel last week that Trump spoke privately with him several times, including by telephone and at White House meetings.
Comey said he believed Trump was trying to get him to drop an investigation of the president's former national security adviser, and that White House officials spread "lies, plain and simple" to cover up the reason for his dismissal.
The president tweeted later in the day Thursday to take to task former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who ran against him as the Democrat's candidate in the 2016 presidential election.
"Why is it that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?"
Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017
Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017
Trump followed up a few minutes later on Twitter, saying, "Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/ AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?"
VOA's Ken Bredemeier contributed to this report.
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