Trump Tries to Deflect Russia Scrutiny, Citing Crooked Scheme by Obama

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump sought to turn attention away from the Russia investigation on Monday, saying that “the real story” was what he called a “crooked scheme against us” by President Barack Obama’s team to mine American intelligence reports for information about him during last year’s presidential campaign.

The president’s broadside against his predecessor coincided with a string of reports in conservative news media outlets that Susan E. Rice, Mr. Obama’s national security adviser, requested the identities of Americans who were cited in intelligence reports about surveillance of foreign officials, and who were connected with Mr. Trump’s campaign or transition.

Former national security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described the requests as normal and said they were justified by the need for the president’s top security adviser to understand the context of reports sent to her by the nation’s intelligence agencies.

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He (Sean Spicer) chided reporters for showing more interest in the investigation into contacts between Mr. Trump’s team and Russia than in the conduct of Mr. Obama’s White House.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/03/us/politics/twitter-trump-clinton-obama.html?_r=0