In tweet, Trump denounces Russian Federation probe as 'phony story'

Trump appeared to be a responding to a Washington Post report that special prosecutor Robert Mueller "is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said".

President Trump on Thursday criticized reports that he is now under investigation for obstruction of justice in connection with the firing of FBI Director James Comey, denouncing it as another "witch hunt" that is unfairly targeting him.

The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that special counsel Robert Mueller was seeking interviews with three Trump administration officials who weren't involved in Trump's campaign: Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Michael Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, the former NSA deputy director.

According to the timeline provided by the White House, Trump had met on May 8 with Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who told their boss during the meeting they had concerns about Comey. Rosenstein was acting, because Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from acting in the Russia investigation after it was revealed he had held two meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak before the November 8, 2016 election.

Comey said during a US Senate committee last week that he told Trump that he was not under any direct investigation.

Lizza appears to believe that Trump's "they" who are now going "for obstruction justice" refers to law enforcement and/or intelligence community probes into his conduct. The order by the general counsel for his transition team casts a wide net on documents that could shed light on ties between Trump's presidential campaign and representatives of Russia's government.

Still, the snowballing investigation has deeply angered Trump, who denies he has any nefarious ties to Russian Federation.

Trump, in a series of morning tweets, reverted back to the tone that won him the White House, slamming the investigation a day after he called for unity in the wake of a shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice that injured several people, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.

In a foreboding sign, Rosenstein privately admitted to colleagues that he may have to recuse himself from the ongoing federal probe ABC News reported Friday.

The transition official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss post-election decisions publicly.

Trump's tweets came after the top lawyer for his transition team warned the organization's officials to preserve all records and other materials related to the Russian Federation probe. An official of Trump's transition confirmed the lawyer's internal order, which was sent Thursday.

On Thursday, the Post reported that Vice President Mike Pence has retained outside counsel to help him weather whatever storm might come his way.

"Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russian Federation are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" he asked at one point.

"They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story", he wrote on Twitter.

You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! The tweet was not confirmation that the president or his attorney has been informed by the Department of Justice or Mueller that Trump is the subject of an investigation.