Trump goes on rambling rant against the media

National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned this week after it was revealed that he misled White House officials about communications with the Russian ambassador, and the New York Times reported this week that officials in Trump’s presidential campaign engaged in ongoing talks with Russian intelligence.

After several press conferences in which he only called on conservative media outlets while avoiding tough questions on the firing of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and other hard topics, Trump spoke at length and then took questions from a wide range of reporters. I would have directed him to do it if I thought he wasn’t doing it.

“Russia is a ruse”, Trump said.

He then turned blame to President Obama’s administration, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the intelligence committee amid a new report of US agencies intercepting phone calls made ahead of the presidential election from members of Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence officials.

Characterizing leaks from intelligence and law enforcement agencies, as well as his own White House, as “criminal acts”, Trump expressed sympathy for his departed aide and blasted the recipients of the leaked information, the news media.

Trump lashed out at reporters for “this whole Russian Federation scam that you guys are building, so that you don’t talk about the real subject, which is illegal leaks”.

Flynn has now acknowledged he gave “incomplete information” about the phone calls.

Donald Trump was reportedly fully aware that his former national security adviser had spoken with a Russian envoy after the conversation took place. He did not say if he had ordered any investigation into leaks. “This Russian connection nonsense is merely an attempt to cover up the many mistakes made in Hillary Clinton’s losing campaign”.

The acrimony, according to the New York Times, grew so sharp at one point that a journalist told Trump, “Just for the record, we don’t hate you”. I told you this.

“We’ve said everything we want to say”, said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov. To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.

Mr Trump defended General Flynn, during a fiery and wide-ranging news conference, saying he “did nothing wrong”, before blasting the media for their reporting on the scandal.

By some accounts, the conversations included discussion about sanctions imposed against Russian Federation by former president Barack Obama. Earlier in the day, Trump had a breakfast meeting with some of his staunchest House supporters.

Donald Trump has slammed the Obama administration in his first solo press conference, as he issued a threat to leakers.

Congress must learn what Flynn said to the Russians and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.