Trump rejoices after A-G drops charges against ex-aide

Flynn

PUBLISHED 10 MIN AGO

"Controversial move gives Trump ammunition in re-election fight

WASHINGTON • US President Donald Trump has claimed sweeping vindication over the Russian election meddling investigation that he has long branded a hoax and a witch hunt, after the Justice Department dropped its prosecution of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Attorney-General Bill Barr's deeply controversial declaration that there were never grounds to pursue Mr Flynn, a central target in the Russia probe, and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) abused its powers, drew outrage in much of the legal community.

But it delivered to Mr Trump a powerful victory in his three-year campaign to convince Americans that the investigation was a political inquisition designed to delegitimise his presidency.

"Most people knew from the beginning, and they knew it was just a total hoax. It was a made-up story, a disgrace to our nation," Mr Trump told Fox News on Friday.

"They tried to take down the President of the United States - a sitting, duly elected President of the United States - before I even won.

Coming six months before he stands for re-election, Mr Barr's move offered powerful ammunition that Mr Trump indicated he would use against his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, who was vice-president under Mr Barack Obama when the original FBI investigation began in July 2016.

"These are dirty politicians and dirty cops and some horrible people. And hopefully they're going to pay a big price some day in the not-too-distant future," Mr Trump said of all those involved in the Russia investigation.

"If anyone thinks that (Obama) and Sleepy Joe Biden didn't know what was going on, they have another thing coming," he said. "I believe he and Biden… (were) involved in this all, very much.""

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/trump-rejoices-after-a-g-drops-charges-against-ex-aide-flynn