Donald Trump didn't tell the whole truth about the Russia investigation 7 times in 1 tweet
I wonder if this is a record for trumpy??
Donald Trump didn't tell the whole truth about the Russia investigation 7 times in 1 tweet
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/30/politics/donald-trump-tweets-mueller-russia/index.html
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Updated 1:39 PM ET, Mon July 30, 2018
What we know about the Russia/Trump Tower meeting
(CNN)On Sunday afternoon, Donald Trump tweeted.
"There is No Collusion," wrote the President of the United States. "The Robert Mueller Rigged Witch Hunt, headed now by 17 (increased from 13, including an Obama White House lawyer) Angry Democrats, was started by a fraudulent Dossier, paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC. Therefore, the Witch Hunt is an illegal Scam!"
That tweet totals 47 words (and 277 characters -- sliding just under Twitter's 280-character limit). And despite its relative brevity, there are at least seven examples of exaggerations, mischaracterizations and outright falsehoods contained in it. That's one for every seven words!
Let's go through them!
1. "There is no collusion"
.................
2. "The Robert Mueller Rigged Witch Hunt"
.........................................
3. "Headed by now 17 (increased from 13, including an Obama White House lawyer) Angry Democrats"
..........................
4 and 5. "Was started by a fraudulent Dossier"
Trump, as he often does, suggests that the only reason the Mueller probe exists is because of a "fraudulent dossier" on him put together by former British spy Christopher Steele.
That's not right on two counts.
First, we know that the FBI launched a counterintelligence investigation in July 2016 into possible Russia involvement in the election after then-Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos had told an Australian diplomat in Britain that the Russians had dirt on Trump opponent Hillary Clinton. Australian officials passed along that information to US intelligence officials once hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta emerged. There's no question that Steele's dossier has also played some part in the Russia investigation by Mueller, though it's not clear exactly how large a role. What is clear is that the dossier was not why the investigation began.
CNN's Chris Cillizza cuts through the political spin and tells you what you need to know. By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy.
Second, Trump's assertion that the entire dossier is "fraudulent" is inaccurate. While the more salacious details in it have not been confirmed by the US intelligence community, there are elements of the dossier that have in fact been corroborated. Back in February, CNN reported this: "For the first time, US investigators say they have corroborated some of the communications detailed in a 35-page dossier compiled by a former British intelligence agent, multiple current and former US law enforcement and intelligence officials tell CNN."
6. "Paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC"
Trump's description of the funding for the Steele dossier is woefully incomplete.
The initial funding for the so-called "dossier' came from The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative media website. The Free Beacon hired Fusion GPS, a research firm, to build up a dossier on Trump during the 2016 Republican primary process. The Free Beacon ended its funding in May 2016, at which point, the DNC and the Clinton campaign picked up the funding for Fusion GPS's work. At that point, Fusion GPS hired Steele on.
7."The witch hunt is an illegal scam"
I have zero idea what Trump means by "illegal." After all, this probe is being run by his Justice Department. It's not clear what law they would be/are breaking. As to the "scam," it's important to remember that Mueller has issued 191 criminal charges against 32 individuals and three companies in the course of the special counsel probe. Five people have already pleaded guilty in relation to the probe and several are now cooperating with Mueller, including former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates.