As Mueller investigation nears end, Trump sharpens his attacks
鈥淭hey are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!鈥�
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President Trump on Thursday tweeted this angry charge against The New York Times. It appears to be the first time he has singled out an individual media organization, by name, for such a serious accusation.
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What made the president mad? Likely the paper鈥檚 lead story 鈥� a lengthy account of Mr. Trump鈥檚 unprecedented public attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller and other federal law enforcement investigations into his campaign and administration, and Russian interference in the 2016 election.
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It may also reflect the fact that Mr. Mueller鈥檚 Russia probe could be close to an inflection point. On Friday, prosecutors are scheduled to file a new sentencing memo for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who has been convicted of financial crimes related to his work in Ukraine. In the past, Mueller鈥檚 team has used such documents to make public details of their findings 鈥� and Mr. Manafort was involved in many of the activities that are main threads of the Russia probe.
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NBC鈥檚 Pete Williams has reported that a Mueller 鈥渇inal report鈥� could come as early as next week.
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Trump believes fervently that offense is the best defense, particularly when it comes to legal troubles. The Times story, which is largely a narrative recap of events, counts more than 1,100 times Trump has publicly attacked the Russia investigation.
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The president and his supporters see charges of bias and bad faith as their best weapon to beat back a 鈥渄eep state鈥� assault that threatens to consume the Trump presidency. In this regard they plan to highlight recent revelations by former FBI official Andrew McCabe that top Justice officials talked about invoking the 25th
听Amendment to remove Trump from office.
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Mr. McCabe didn鈥檛 actually put the 25th
听Amendment tidbit in his new book, 鈥淭he Threat.鈥� It would have been distracting and 鈥渋nflammatory,鈥� he听. In news interviews, he has portrayed it as an offhand discussion during the internal chaos that followed the firing of ex-FBI Director James Comey.
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鈥淚t was absolutely crazy. The world was upside down,鈥� he told Ms. Bertrand.
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Let us know what you鈥檙e thinking at听csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.
Why We Wrote This
Believing offense is the best defense, the president is launching charges of media bias and a 鈥榙eep state鈥� conspiracy in advance of whatever may emerge from the special counsel鈥檚 investigation.
