The White House said Tuesday it can’t confirm whether the FBI is investigating Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.
Rumors of some kind of investigation are swirling, although no government official has confirmed a probe is underway. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., chided Director James Comey last week for not thoroughly investigating Trump’s alleged improper ties to the Kremlin, and Democrats have been trying to make Trump’s relationship to Russia part of the campaign.
Trump’s positive comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin have come under renewed scrutiny amid the intelligence community’s conclusion that Moscow was behind the hacks of Democratic Party emails and the surfacing of a 2013 interview in which the Republican nominee claims to have a relationship with Putin, a former KGB official.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest also said he had nothing to say about Comey’s decision to examine new emails that could be connected to Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Obama administration officials are doing all they can to not interfere with FBI or Justice Department queries, Earnest told reporters traveling with Obama to Ohio on Tuesday. He said it’s the administration’s stance to remain neutral “whether there’s an election around the corner or not.”
