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Donald Trump 'has been screaming at the television about Russia links investigation', says White House adviser

It comes as US President dismisses FBI director James Comey, who was leading probe into Kremlin collusion

Lucy Pasha-Robinson
Wednesday 10 May 2017 16:12 BST
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Mr Trump repeatedly asked aides why the allegations would not disappear and demanded they defend him publicly, according to unnamed advisers
Mr Trump repeatedly asked aides why the allegations would not disappear and demanded they defend him publicly, according to unnamed advisers (Getty Images)

Donald Trump was so frustrated by the ongoing investigation into his administration's links with Russia he would sometimes scream at television when news concerning it came on, according to one of his advisers.

The US President has been growing increasingly enraged at his inability to control the probe exploring allegations of collusion between the Kremlin and his presidential campaign, two advisers told Politico.

According to the unidentified staff members, Mr Trump repeatedly asked aides why the allegations would not disappear and demanded they defend him publicly.

Why did Donald Trump fire James Comey?

The account emerged as the former real estate mogul dismissed FBI director James Comey, who was leading the investigation into Mr Trump’s alleged ties to the Kremlin.

Mr Trump ordered his private security guard to hand-deliver Mr Comey’s termination letter, claiming errors made in the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during the election campaign left Mr Trump no choice but to dismiss him.

However many have criticised his reasoning and accused him of trying to gag the Russian investigation, citing the many instances on the campaign trail where Mr Trump offered his support to the investigation into Ms Clinton.

The president did not mention the word Russia in his four-line letter informing the FBI director that he was being summarily removed from his post.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that is carrying out its own probe, said he believed the action amounted to a “looming constitutional crisis”.

“The president of the United States has just fired the Director of the FBI who was carrying out an investigation into him,” he said.

Another Democratic senator, Patrick Leahy, said Mr Trump’s actions were “nothing less than Nixonian".

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