Trump says probe on Russia collusion is ‘phony hoax’
US President Donald Trump has once again called the federal investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and his 2016 election campaign a "phony hoax."
Trump made the remarks on Friday while speaking to reporters at the White House before departing to Paris, France, saying he won the presidential election because he was a stronger candidate than Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton.
Trump was traveling to Paris to attend events marking the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War l.
“The Russian investigation is a hoax, it’s a phony hoax,” Trump told reporters.
“I didn’t speak to the Russians; the fact is I was a much better candidate than Hillary Clinton, I worked much harder, I went to the right places, she went to the wrong places, because she didn't know what the hell she was doing," he added.
“She didn’t do a good job; this has nothing to do with Russians; it’s a Russian hoax.”
The US president also confirmed that he will be meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the G 20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the end of November.
Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia and has long denounced the probe by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a "witch hunt" and a hoax. Moscow has also denied any involvement in efforts to interfere in the 2016 election in favor of Trump.
Trump on Wednesday dismissed US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the head of the Justice Department. Sessions enraged Trump by recusing himself in March 2017 from investigations into the alleged Russian interference.
Trump replaced Sessions with Matthew Whitaker, a longtime critic of Mueller’s Russia probe.
Members of the Democratic Party in Congress have warned Trump against making efforts to stop the Russia probe following Sessions’ ouster.
Tens of thousands of Americans staged nationwide rallies on Thursday in support of the federal probe against Trump. The rallies, dubbed “Nobody is Above the Law,” were led by the activist group MoveOn.
Chanting the slogan "Hands off Mueller," the protesters held signs that read "Truth Must Triumph," and "Repeal, Replace Trump."
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