Trump, White House Seize On Mueller Indictment As Proof Of ‘NO COLLUSION’

US President Donald Trump responds to a reporter's question on domestic violence following a working session regarding opportunity zones following the recently signed tax bill in the Oval Office of the White House on... US President Donald Trump responds to a reporter's question on domestic violence following a working session regarding opportunity zones following the recently signed tax bill in the Oval Office of the White House on February 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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President Donald Trump on Friday insisted that special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russians and three Russian entities supported his claim that there was “no collusion” between members of his campaign and Russia.

“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President,” he tweeted. “The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!”

The White House also claimed in an emailed statement that the indictment exculpated Trump and his campaign of any suspicion of collusion.

“President Donald J. Trump has been fully briefed on this matter and is glad to see the Special Counsel’s investigation further indicates—that there was NO COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and Russia and that the outcome of the election was not changed or affected,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in the statement.

In the same statement, Trump said, “It’s time we stop the outlandish partisan attacks, wild and false allegations, and far-fetched theories, which only serve to further the agendas of bad actors, like Russia, and do nothing to protect the principles of our institutions.”

“We must unite as Americans to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections,” he went on.

But a person with knowledge of Mueller’s probe told Bloomberg Friday afternoon that the special counsel haven’t finished investigating whether Trump or members of his campaign colluded with Russia.

And despite the intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia will attempt to interfere again in this year’s midterm elections, Trump has done little to address such potential disruption efforts.

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday testified that, while the bureau is undertaking “a lot of specific activities” against the possibility of interference, Trump did “not specifically” direct the FBI to do so.

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