John Podesta, the former campaign chair for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 bid for president, painted himself as a “victim” Tuesday after President Trump repeated claims a federal investigation into Tony Podesta’s lobbying firm overshadowed the first indictments issued by special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
“Not bad enough that I was the victim of a massive cyber crime directed by the Russian President,” Podesta wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “Now I’m the victim of a big lie campaign by the American President.”
Not bad enough that I was the victim of a massive cyber crime directed by the Russian President (1/3)
— John Podesta (@johnpodesta) October 31, 2017
Now I’m the victim of a big lie campaign by the American President (2/3)
— John Podesta (@johnpodesta) October 31, 2017
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump tweeted Democrats were “in a dither” over an announcement made on Monday that John Podesta’s brother, Tony Podesta, was resigning from the lobbying business in response to an investigation by Mueller.
“The biggest story yesterday, the one that has the Dems in a dither, is Podesta running from his firm. What he know about Crooked Dems is … earth shattering,” Trump wrote. “He and his brother could Drain The Swamp, which would be yet another campaign promise fulfilled. Fake News weak!”
The Podesta Group became a subject of Mueller’s probe into Kremlin meddling in U.S. elections after it was revealed the firm worked with former Trump associate Paul Manafort on a public relations campaign for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a nonprofit suspected to be backed by the pro-Russian and oligarch-funded Ukrainian political group, Party of Regions.
Tony Podesta pushed back on reports Monday that he “colluded” with Moscow, issuing a warning through his lawyer to Fox News that the network should “cease and desist” making “fabricated” statements.
In October 2016, during the closing weeks of the presidential election, WikiLeaks dumped a cache of John Podesta’s personal emails believed by experts to have been sourced from a Russian hacking group.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the claims.
