Trump Orders Release of Secret Docs on Russian Probe Without Reading Them First

In the exclusive interview with Hill.TV, Trump said that he regretted that he hadn't fired FBI Director James Comey immediately instead of waiting until May 2017. Trump confirmed the words of his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who said to Hill.TV earlier on Tuesday that in 2016 Trump was displeased with how Comey had handled the Hillary Clinton email scandal and began thinking about firing him even before becoming president of the US.

“If I did one mistake with Comey, I should have fired him before I got here. I should have fired him the day I won the primaries,” Trump said, “I should have fired him right after the convention; say I don’t want that guy.”

The president also slammed the FBI, criticizing how the Bureau surveilled his presidential campaign as well as the Russian investigation. He criticized the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court’s approval of the warrant that authorized surveillance of Carter Page, a Trump campaign aide for whom Trump feels “very badly” and who was misled, as well as the court, the President suggested. 

Trump also specifically mentioned counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, lawyer Lisa Page and the other FBI officials who started the probe, saying that he ordered the release of text messages Page and Strzok exchanged while having an affair and investigating his campaign, outlining that these texts showed they condoned leaks and falsified the probe.

“It’s a hoax, beyond a witch hunt,” Trump said, noting that the texts will be released after his announcement on Monday.

He said that the FBI leaks were used to create a false narrative and discredit him, saying it was the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “insurance policy” in case he won the elections, calling it “illegal” and “low”. He said he wanted to be transparent by ordering the release of these documents, arguing that although he hadn't read them, he is sure they would prove the FBI case started as a political “hoax”.

Trump also outlined that he is sure that exposing the “corrupt” FBI could be one of the greatest achievements of his presidency. “I hope to be able to put this up as one of my crowning achievements that I was able to… expose something that is truly cancer in our country,” he said.

The investigation of the alleged connection between Trump and Russia started after the FBI claimed that several Russian individuals and companies had meddled with the 2016 presidential elections while finding no actual proof that election results were actually influenced.