WASHINGTON: As former Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded hours of marathon testimonies before Congressional committees, US President Donald Trump claimed that he stood vindicated that the entire Russian investigation was nothing but a witch hunt and a hoax.
Former FBI director Mueller appeared before two Congressional committees on Wednesday to respond to questions from Congressmen on the recently-concluded investigations about his allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
The Democrats allege that the Russian interference helped Trump in his election. Trump dismisses it and says it is a hoax and witch hunt.
“I think Robert Mueller did a horrible job, both today and with respect to the investigation. But in all fairness to Robert Mueller, he had nothing to work with. You know, you can be a builder, but if they do not give you the right materials, you are not going to build a very good building,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“Robert Mueller had no material. He had nothing to work with. So, obviously, he did very poorly today. I do not think there is anybody — even among the fakers, I do not think there is anybody who would say he did well. I looked at your people, they are saying it was devastating for the Democrats,” he said.
“And even, I will tell you, the two most nauseous and nauseating networks — whose ratings have both gone down, way down — even they said this was a really bad day for the Democrats. So, Robert Mueller did a poor job. But in all fairness to him, he had nothing to work with,” Trump said responding to a question.
The day-long Congressional testimonies by Mueller, Trump said, vindicated his position that he had nothing to do with the Russian interference and there was no collusion. “We had a very good day today,” he said.
“There was no defense for this ridiculous hoax, this witch hunt that’s been going on for a long time — pretty much from the time I came down on the escalator with our First Lady. And it is a disgrace what happened.
“But I think, today proved a lot to everybody. In fact, some of my biggest opponents wrote things today that I would not have believed they would have written, and I appreciate that they did that,” Trump said.
“This has been a very bad thing for our country. Despite everything we have been through, it’s been an incredible two-and-a-half years for our country. The administration, our President — me — we have done a great job. We have got the strongest stock market, the best unemployment numbers, the most number of people ever working in the history of our country right now — almost 160 million. Our military has been rebuilt and getting even stronger,” he said.
Trump reiterated that the allegations and investigations against him were a witch hunt.
“A total witch hunt. When you saw Robert Mueller’s statement, the earlier statement, and then he did a recap, he did a correction later on in the afternoon. And you know what that correction was, and you still asked the question. Do you know why? Because you are fake news. And you are one of the most,” he told a reporter in response to a question.
The Democrats, Trump said, were devastated after Mueller’s testimony.
“The Democrats lost so big today. Their party is in shambles right now. They have got the squad leading their party. They are a mess — where even you take a look at a scribe and you take a look at so many of the people that were the most outspoken, and they say this was a devastating day for the Democrats,” he said. PTI