President Donald Trump seemed to suggest in a Tuesday tweet that the Justice Department should investigate his political opponents and former FBI Director James Comey.
In the same tweet, Trump also parroted the “deep state” conspiracy theory held by some of his most ardent supporters, including former White House strategist and head of Breitbart Steve Bannon.
“Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid [sic], Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols,” he wrote. “She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others.”
Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Trump’s railing against Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton, and the Justice Department appears to be a reference to a report from the hyper-conservative website the Daily Caller that said Abedin forwarded sensitive emails and passwords to her personal email account on Yahoo before the organization was hacked in August 2013.
While the president has routinely criticized Clinton and her campaign for their handling of emails, Trump has also leaked classified information to “foreign agents.” Last year, Trump told Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador to the United States about classified information regarding the Islamic State during a meeting in the Oval Office.
The meeting with the Russian officials came the day after the president abruptly fired Comey, who was added to Trump’s tweet on Tuesday. Comey’s firing was a linchpin for the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in last year’s election and possible ties between Trump’s campaign and the country.
The Daily Caller report stems from the State Department’s release of thousands of classified emails from Abedin’s nongovernment address found on the laptop of Anthony Weiner, Abedin’s estranged husband, last week. The emails were part of an FBI investigation that was made public during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election.
The emails did not change the FBI’s stance that Clinton’s private email server warranted criminal charges.
Trump’s threat of prosecuting his political opponents and suggesting the idea of a “deep state” certainly energized his base online.
.@realDonaldTrump calls the Department of Justice (or at least a portion of it) "Deep State". Is he right? Yes, according to author Mike Lofgren who wrote a well regarded book on the subject in 2015. https://t.co/9g4SAsgd5I https://t.co/iomcpQe4Ls pic.twitter.com/Hlb5BsR5nS
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 2, 2018
I've been waiting and waiting for somebody to call out and hold the above the law Democrats accountable.
— BRANDON FALLS (@bhabrock12) January 2, 2018
Where is Sessions and the DOJ? https://t.co/PCZZnZ7ygd
https://twitter.com/Thom44810402/status/948175422289784832
#LockHerUp Web of lies from #CrookedHillary n #HumaAbedin Next step is to bring charges against them #DrainTheSwamp #TrumpTrain #TrumpAdministration https://t.co/mDhKSKbn2O
— jenny guo (@jennysuolang) January 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/LouisTabor3/status/948174812488392705