Woodward: Trump should welcome Russia investigation if he thinks there’s ‘nothing here’

Watergate reporter Bob Woodward said President Trump should welcome an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election if he believes nothing occurred.

“If Trump is correct, [and] he thinks there is no collusion and nothing here, he should welcome a full investigation,” Woodward said in an appearance on “CBS This Morning” on Friday. “That Post story showed that he just does not agree with the overwhelming conclusion of the intelligence community.”

{mosads}The Washington Post reported Thursday that Trump’s daily intelligence briefings are set up in an effort to avoid upsetting him. A former senior intelligence official told the newspaper that intelligence about Russia was presented to Trump only in the written intelligence assessment and is sometimes altered to try to avoid displeasing him.

“If you talk about Russia, meddling, interference — that takes the PDB off the rails,” a second former senior U.S. intelligence official told the newspaper about the president’s daily briefing.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, calling the probe a “witch hunt” and repeatedly denying collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Trump has also reportedly urged Senate Republicans to end the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian meddling.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election has continued to intensify in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.