FBI wondered if Trump was ‘acting at the behest’ of Russia, transcripts show: report

by Michael Burke - 01/14/19 7:26 AM ET

FBI officials debated whether President Trump was “acting at the behest of” Russia after he fired former FBI Director James Comey in 2017, the FBI’s general counsel told House investigators last year, according to CNN.

James Baker told investigators that the possibility Trump was working for Russia was “one extreme” that FBI officials debated, according to transcripts that CNN obtained.

{mosads}”The other extreme is that the President is completely innocent, and we discussed that too. There’s a range of things this could possibly be,” he said, according to the news network.

“We need to investigate, because we don’t know whether, you know, the worst-case scenario is possibly true or the President is totally innocent and we need to get this thing over with — and so he can move forward with his agenda,” Baker added.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the FBI in 2017 opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was working on behalf of Russia. The Times reported that Trump’s firing of Comey prompted the probe.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice on the part of Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed the probe as a “witch hunt.”

CNN also reported that former FBI lawyer Lisa Page testified that the bureau was considering opening a probe into whether Trump was working on behalf of Russia even before he fired Comey.

“This case had been a topic of discussion for some time,” Page testified, according to CNN. “The ‘waiting on’ was an indecision and a cautiousness on the part of the bureau with respect to what to do and whether there was sufficient predication to open.”

It has previously been reported that Peter Strzok, the former FBI agent who was fired because he made comments critical of Trump, told Page in a text message following Comey’s dismissal that the FBI needed “to open the case we’ve been waiting on.”

Trump in a tweet on Saturday attacked Page, Strzok, Comey and former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, calling them “losers.”

“Lyin’ James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter S and his lover, agent Lisa Page, & more, all disgraced and/or fired and caught in the act. These are just some of the losers that tried to do a number on your President. Part of the Witch Hunt. Remember the ‘insurance policy?’ This is it!” Trump wrote.

Lyin’ James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter S and his lover, agent Lisa Page, & more, all disgraced and/or fired and caught in the act. These are just some of the losers that tried to do a number on your President. Part of the Witch Hunt. Remember the “insurance policy?” This is it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2019