Trump declares “Fake news” before FBI Director James Comey’s testimony on Trump-Russia connections

What Comey says — or doesn't say — Monday may tell us a lot about what the FBI believes happened

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Topics: Donald Trump, Elections 2016, Hillary Clinton, James Comey, , ,

Trump declares "Fake news" before FBI Director James Comey's testimony on Trump-Russia connections(Credit: AP/Jim Mone/Reuters/Carlos Barria)

President Donald Trump is preemptively trying to swat down lingering allegations that his campaign engaged in improper activities with the Russian government during the 2016 election. His actions are almost certainly linked to FBI Director James Comey’s impending testimony before Congress.

Ironically, Comey has been accused by Democrats like former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada of improperly swaying the 2016 election toward Trump by mentioning that he would revisit Hillary Clinton’s emails even though there was little proved to be no reason for doing so.

Comey is expected to testify before Congress on Monday about President Trump’s claim that Trump Tower was wiretapped by the Obama administration during the election. According to ABC News, he is expected to debunk those claims within the first few minutes of his testimony.

During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, the House Intelligence Committee’s ranking Democrat California Rep. Adam Schiff said that he expects Comey will “put an end to this wild goose chase.”

“What the president said is patently false and the wrecking ball it created has now banged into the British allies and German allies and continuing to grow in terms of damage,” Schiff added.

Comey may also discuss whether or not the Trump campaign colluded with Russian government officials to try to hurt Clinton’s campaign and help Trump’s, a suspicion that has been exacerbated by a number of ties between individuals connected to Trump and both Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and WikiLeaks founders Julian Assange.

“If Comey acknowledges the investigation, it could balloon into a scandal for the still-young Trump administration,” wrote The New York Times on Monday.

Watch the testimony here:

Matthew Rozsa
Matthew Rozsa is a breaking news writer for Salon. He holds an MA in History from Rutgers University-Newark and his work has appeared in Mic, Quartz and MSNBC.

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