Rosenstein: Trump ‘fully aware’ of Russian indictments

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Friday said he informed President Trump about the indictment of 12 Russians who allegedly hacked the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election.  

“The president is fully aware of today’s actions by the department,” Rosenstein said during a press conference announcing the indictment. 

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The No. 2 Justice Department official said Trump, who is traveling in Europe, was briefed on the matter earlier this week. 

The indictments were made public just three days before Trump was set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

Rosenstein, who has been a target of Trump’s ire over the special counsel’s Russia investigation, said it is “important for the president to know what information was uncovered because he has to make very important decisions for the country.” 

“He needs to know what evidence there is of foreign election interference,” said Rosenstein. 

Trump has promised to raise the issue of election meddling with Putin, saying Friday he will “absolutely firmly ask the question” during their meeting. 

But Trump has frequently wavered on the question of whether Moscow interfered in the 2016 election, which he feels he has not received enough credit for winning. 

“The new joke in town is that Russia leaked the disastrous DNC e-mails, which should never have been written (stupid), because Putin likes me,” Trump tweeted in July 2016.