President Trump dismissed questions about a potential investigation into his administration’s ties to Russia, telling reporters on Monday that he hasn’t had contact with the Russians in a decade.
“I haven’t called Russia in 10 years,” Trump said before a meeting with health insurance executives at the White House.
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Democrats have escalated their calls for a more robust investigation into allegations that Trump’s associates had inappropriate contact with Russians before the election and during the transition.
Trump accused Democrats of blocking his agenda and Cabinet members for partisan gain, and he mocked the “Resist” movement that has emerged among opponents of his administration.
“It’s called obstruct and resist,” Trump said, joking that he had helped the movement by providing it with a new slogan.
Congressional Democrats have begun pushing for an independent criminal investigation of alleged ties between Trump’s associates and Russian government officials. Many Democrats, including newly-elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez, have said such an investigation would require Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself.
Trump and his team have long denied having any illegal contact with Russian officials.
Scrutiny of the Trump campaign’s alleged Kremlin connections resurfaced this month when Gen. Mike Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, was fired because Trump found that he misled Vice President Pence about the nature of his pre-inaugural conversation with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.
Rep. Devin Nunes, Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Monday that he had not encountered any evidence to support allegations of secret Trump-Russia relationships.
