President Donald Trump has sought to dismiss as a “hoax” the various federal investigations into Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible ties to Trump associates.
Here are 11 times he said this.
“Why isn’t the House Intelligence Committee looking into the Bill & Hillary [Clinton] deal that allowed big Uranium to go to Russia, Russian speech money to Bill, the Hillary Russian “reset,” praise of Russia by Hillary, or Podesta Russian Company. Trump Russia story is a hoax. #MAGA!” Trump wrote in two tweets on March 28, 2017.
“The Russia story is a total hoax,” Trump said in an April 5, 2017, interview with The New York Times. “There has been absolutely nothing coming out of that.”
“The Russia-Trump collusion story is a total hoax, when will this taxpayer funded charade end?” Trump wrote on Twitter on May 8, 2017.
“Stock Market hit another all-time high yesterday – despite the Russian hoax story! Also, jobs numbers are starting to look very good!” Trump tweeted on July 15, 2017.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on July 25, 2017, Trump said he was “disappointed” with Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation and repeated his assertion that the probes are a “hoax.”
The Wall Street Journal released only excerpts of the interview transcript, but Politico released the full transcript.
“That’s a total witch hunt, the whole Russia story,” the president said in the interview. “It’s a hoax. It’s a hoax. We had no collusion with Russia. We never dealt with Russia.”
The topic came up while Trump was at a rally in Huntington, West Virginia, on Aug. 3, 2017.
“They can continue their obsession with the Russian hoax, or they can serve the interests of the American people,” he said.
Trump took issue with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., talking about the Russia investigations and turned to Twitter to show his displeasure.
“Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!” the president wrote on Twitter on Aug. 7. 2017.
While campaigning for Senate candidate Luther Strange in Huntsville, Alabama, on Sept. 22, 2017, Trump called the notion of Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election working to his benefit a hoax.
“Honestly? It’s the thing they did best,” Trump said, referring to Democrats. “They did a rotten job of running. But to convince people about this hoax, that was probably the thing that they did best, but it is one great hoax. No, Russia did not help me, that I can tell you, OK?”
“And by the way, folks, just in case you’re, like, curious, no, Russia did not help me. OK? Russia. I call it the Russian hoax, one of the great hoaxes,” he said in the speech.
He also tweeted about it on Sept. 22, 2017, writing, “The Russia hoax continues, now it’s ads on Facebook. What about the totally biased and dishonest Media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?”
In an appearance on Oct. 19 in the Oval Office alongside Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rossello, Trump brought up the “hoax” again, suggesting the real “Russia story” was the sale of uranium to Moscow while Democrat Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.
“Uranium is a big subject. If the mainstream media would cover the uranium scandal and that Russia has 20 percent of uranium for whatever reason — and a lot of people understand what those reasons may be — I think that’s your Russia story. That’s your real Russia story. Not a story where they talk about collusion, and there was none. It was a hoax,” he said.
Trump returned to this idea again as he fielded questions from journalists outside the White House on Oct. 25.
“They made up the whole Russia hoax,” he said. “Now it’s turning out that the hoax has turned around. And you look at what’s happened with Russia, and you look at the uranium deal, and you look at the fake dossier.”
