FBI Director James Comey confirmed for the first time Monday that the agency is investigating Russian interference in last year's presidential election and notably Moscow's possible collusion with President Donald Trump's campaign. He also rejected Trump's claim that predecessor Barack Obama wiretapped his Trump Tower in New York, saying both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department had no evidence to support such allegations.
The explosive testimony in the House Intelligence Committee - the first public hearing into both controversies - came as Trump sought to steer the news focus by calling the Russia issue, which has been a cloud over his November victory, "fake news." His angry tweets added to the huge political pressure from both parties on Comey and Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency.
But the FBI director opened the hearing with a bombshell - confirming longstanding reports that his agency is conducting a counterintelligence probe into the Russian government's covert effort to steer the 2016 presidential vote. "And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any co-ordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts," he said.
Comey dated the probe back to July 2016, when the government became aware that Democratic party computers and communications had been broken into by Russia-linked hackers. Documents stolen in that break-in were released in the final weeks of the campaign to embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who was the front-runner going into the November 8 vote. Comey told the panel Monday that Moscow's effort, allegedly directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, had clearly sought to damage Clinton's bid and boost Trump.
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