On Sunday, Bernstein during an appearance on CNN, criticized Trump’s denial of the earlier reports that the FBI had been investigating the US president after he fired former bureau director James Comey.
“He has helped Putin destabilize the United States and interfere in the election, no matter whether it was purposeful or not", the journalist claimed, noting that the assessment of whether there had been any collusion will be discussed in the special counsel's report as “he was told” by “his own high-level sources", Newsweek reported.
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He also alleged that the US president had become “a witting, unwitting, or half-witting pawn, certainly in some regards, to Vladimir Putin,” without further evidence, or explanation.
The White House and the FBI have yet to comment on the claim.
Mueller is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections, as well as accusations of collusion between Trump and Moscow, which both Russia and the US president have repeatedly denied. The investigation has been active for more than a year, yet Mueller has not offered up any evidence to substantiate the claims of collusion. According to data submitted to the Justice Department, as the year 2018 drew to a close, the probe into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential elections had cost US taxpayers a whopping $25 million.