Trump tweets ‘Russian Collusion Hoax is dead’ as Bannon set to testify

President Trump declared Tuesday that allegations that his campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election were “dead” as his former chief strategist was set to testify before a House panel on the matter.

“Do you notice the Fake News Mainstream Media never likes covering the great and record setting economic news, but rather talks about anything negative or that can be turned into the negative,” Trump tweeted. “The Russian Collusion Hoax is dead, except as it pertains to the Dems. Public gets it!”

Do you notice the Fake News Mainstream Media never likes covering the great and record setting economic news, but rather talks about anything negative or that can be turned into the negative. The Russian Collusion Hoax is dead, except as it pertains to the Dems. Public gets it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018

Trump has repeatedly denied the notion that his campaign coordinated with the Russians to influence the 2016 race and has accused Democrats of improper collusion with the FBI.

{mosads}His latest comments came as former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon was set to testify before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russian meddling in the election.

Bannon, who was once one of Trump’s closest advisers, fell out of the president’s graces this month after his comments in a controversial tell-all book about the Trump White House were revealed.

That book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” by Michael Wolff, quotes Bannon calling a 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer “treasonous.”

Following the publication of the remarks, Bannon was ousted from his job as the executive chair of Breitbart News.

Russian interference in the election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow is also the subject of a criminal investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. So far, that probe has led to the indictments of two former Trump campaign associates, Paul Manafort and Richard Gates, who are facing charges, including money laundering, tax evasion and failing to register as foreign agents.

Two other former campaign officials, Michael Flynn, the president’s first national security adviser, and George Papadopoulos, have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about their contacts with Russian representatives.