Donald Trump accuses US Department of Justice of 'double standards' in Russian collusion probe

Trump said that the Department of Justice mishandled the investigation into Hilary Clinton's email server
AFP/Getty Images

Michael Flynn's "life was destroyed" by the probe over Russian meddling in the US election campaign, Donald Trump has said.

In Tweets posted on Saturday, the US President accused the Department of Justice of displaying double standards and said the system was "rigged".

He used the message to highlight an investigation into Hillary Clinton's private emails linked the matter.

The President wrote: “So General Flynn lies to the FBI and his life is destroyed, while Crooked Hillary Clinton, on that now famous FBI holiday “interrogation” with no swearing in and no recording, lies many times...and nothing happens to her? Rigged system, or just a double standard?”

He went on to say: “Many people in our country are asking what the “Justice” Department is going to do about the fact that totally Crooked Hillary, AFTER receiving a subpoena from the United States Congress, deleted and “acid washed” 33,000 Emails? No justice!”

Mr Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI about conversations that he had had with the former Russian ambassador to Washington Sergai Kislyak in a US district court hearing.

Mr Trump’s outburst came after he previously tweeted in defence of Mr Flynn, denying allegations of collusion and that there were no ties to his successful election and Russian meddling.

In a tweet, the president said that he “had to fire” Mr Flynn because he “lied to the FBI”. However he also maintained that his actions during the presidential transition were lawful.

He wrote: "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI.

"He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!"

Donald Trump and ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Getty Images

The tweets led critics to question whether or not the president had changed his story over Mr Flynn's firing.

Mr Flynn was forced to resign in February when concerns arose that he had misled the White House about conversations with Mr Kislyak.

Initially, Mr Trump said that he had fired the general as he had lied to the Vice President Mike Pence, suggesting that he was aware of rumours that Mr Flynn had lied to the FBI.

Mr Flynn this week pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI for lying about the conversation that he had with the Russian official.

The charges were brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Intelligence agencies in the US say Vladimir Putin, Russia's leader, ran an effort to influence last year's presidential vote in Mr Trump's favour.

Mr Flynn, 58, was a key player in the presidential election campaign and served as Mr Trump's first national security adviser. He is the first former national security adviser to be charged with a felony since the mid 1980s.

Mr Trump responded to the plea on Saturday as he left the White House to head to New York for fundraising events expected to raise millions of dollars.

Mr Trump said: "What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. There's been absolutely no collusion."

Mr Flynn is the fourth person involved in President Trump's campaign who was charged as part of the Mueller probe. His guilty plea was called by some "the biggest development yet" in the Trump-Russia scandal.

It is thought the guilty plea could turn Flynn into a potentially key government cooperator after it was reported he has entered into a plea deal with Mr Muller and has agreed to co-operate in the enquiry.

The plea deal might mean a shorter possible jail term for Mr Flynn than the five years normally reserved for people who make false statements.

According to White House lawyer Ty Cobb, nothing about Mr Flynn's guilty plea implicates "anyone other than Mr Flynn".

Mr Flynn said during the hearing: "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country."

The Russia investigation has persistently followed Mr Trump the first year of his presidency, angering the president and repeatedly distracting from his agenda.

Early on in his administration, Mr Trump had taken a particular interest in the status of the Flynn investigation.

Former FBI Director James Comey, whose firing in May precipitated the appointment of Mueller as special counsel, has said Mr Trump asked him in a private Oval Office meeting to consider ending the investigation into Mr Flynn. Mr Comey has said he found the encounter so shocking that he prepared an internal memo about it.

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