Trump described admitting Kremlin hacked Dem emails as a ‘trap’: report

President Trump reportedly said before being sworn in to office that admitting Russia hacked Democratic Party emails was a “trap.”

Before Trump assumed office, aides urged him to acknowledge the intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia had interfered in the 2016 presidential race, The Washington Post reported.

“This was part of the normalization process,” one of the aides said, according to the newspaper. “There was a big effort to get him to be a standard president.”

{mosads}On Jan. 11, before Trump was sworn in, he told reporters that “as far as hacking, I think it was Russia.”

“We also get hacked by other countries and other people,” he added.

Following his comments, Trump reportedly told aides the remarks were “not me.”

“It wasn’t right,” he said, according to the newspaper.

Last June, The Washington Post revealed the Democratic National Committee (DNC) had been breached by those thought to be Russian hackers. In July, WikiLeaks published the DNC emails.

A report last year from the intelligence community concluded that Russia ran an influence campaign aimed at helping Trump win the White House.

Throughout his time in office, Trump has repeatedly dismissed the investigation into Russia’s election interference. He has referred to the probe as a “witch hunt” and repeatedly denied collusion.

He has also in the past sought to attack the FBI and the intelligence community.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference has continued to escalate in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to FBI. As part of the plea agreement, Flynn agreed to cooperate fully with Mueller’s investigation.