Former CIA Director John Brennan on Wednesday urged members of Congress to denounce what he called President Trump’s “blatant effort to obstruct justice.”
Brennan’s comment, made via tweet, came in response to Trump’s tweet saying that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should shut down special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference.
“Individuals of conscience who believe in rule of law should denounce this blatant effort to obstruct justice,” Brennan tweeted. “As Mr. Trump’s desperation to protect himself grows, he could turn words into actions, prompting a Constitutional crisis. Congress must warn Trump of dire consequences.”
The former CIA chief is a frequent and harsh critic of Trump, and has repeatedly attacked the president for his comments disparaging Mueller’s Russia probe.
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Trump’s Wednesday morning tweet marked a significant escalation in his critiques of the Mueller investigation. Though he has repeatedly criticized the probe, calling it a “witch hunt,” and lambasted Sessions’s decision to recuse himself from the matter, the president has stopped short of saying publicly that Sessions should end the probe.
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further,” Trump tweeted. “Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!”
Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the president’s comment, saying that it was an “opinion,” not an order.
After Sessions decided to recuse himself, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was charged with overseeing the investigation. Rosenstein later appointed Mueller as special counsel.
Trump’s tweet comes one day after the trial for his former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, began. Manafort is facing a series of charges for alleged financial crimes, for which he has denied any wrongdoing.