James Comey Confirms the FBI Is Investigating Whether the Trump Campaign Colluded With Russia
Politics
At Monday’s heavily-anticipated House Intelligence Committee hearing, FBI director James Comey acknowledged that the FBI is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, including “investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.”
Comey, who announced that the FBI was investigating more of Hillary Clinton’s emails days before she lost the 2016 election, said that the Bureau’s practice “is not to confirm the existence of ongoing investigations, especially those investigations that involve classified matters.” However, “in unusual circumstances, where it is in the public interest, it may be appropriate to do so,” and the Justice Department authorized Comey to confirm the investigation. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle had expressed frustration with Comey’s silence on the matter. While the existence of an FBI investigation isn’t surprising, it’s important to remember how absolutely bonkers this is: a sitting president is being investigated by the FBI for possible collusion with a foreign adversary.