In the latest chapter of the sordid narrative of Trump’s ties to Russia, CNN reported last night that White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus asked FBI officials to deny stories of the Trump campaign’s alleged contacts with Russian sources—in violation of longstanding regulations regarding White House communications on pending investigations. The FBI rebuffed him.
The president’s response? Enraged tweets.
The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security "leakers" that have permeated our government for a long time. They can't even......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2017
find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2017
Last night, Press Secretary Sean Spicer also told CNN: “We didn’t try to knock the story down. We asked them to tell the truth.”
For an administration that got into office thanks in part to FBI actions that kneecapped Hillary Clinton, the Trump White House’s outrage at leaks is a marvelous display of situational morality. But perhaps even worse than that, they don’t understand that their efforts to stop the story make it seem as if they are protesting a tad too much.