Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey confirmed on Monday that his bureau is investigating whether President Donald Trump coordinated with Russia in his 2016 election campaign, the New York Times reports.
It is rare for the FBI to publicly confirm an investigation, but given the heightened public interest around these allegations, the Department of Justice allowed the FBI to address the subject.
“Because it is an open, ongoing investigation, and is classified, I cannot say more about what we are doing and whose conduct we are examining,” Comey said to members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Comey also refuted Trump’s claims made over Twitter that the Obama administration had wiretapped Trump Tower. “All I can tell you is that we have no information that supports them,” Comey said.
Trump, for his part, was busy on Twitter on Monday, calling the allegations of collusion with Russia “FAKE NEWS” and claiming Democrats “made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign.”
