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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Thursday (Oct. 8) voiced unusual criticism of two of his staunchest aides, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General Bill Barr, less than a month away. before the elections.
Furious in a phone interview with Fox Business, Trump, who has been forced out of the campaign by a COVID-19 diagnosis, demanded that both members of the Cabinet take action regarding the previous Barack Obama administration.
Trump said Pompeo should find a way to post emails from Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, a long-standing cause for Republican activists who attack her use of a private server while she was secretary of state.
“They’re in the State Department, but Mike Pompeo hasn’t been able to get them out, which is very sad, actually,” Trump said.
READ: Pompeo shortens next trip to Asia after Trump fell ill with COVID-19
“I’m not happy with him for that reason,” Trump said. “He’s running the State Department, get them out.”
Pompeo has so far been one of the few aides who has never stood up to the fickle Trump, who has ruthlessly criticized Pompeo and Barr’s predecessors after firing them.
Ironically, Pompeo rose to political fame for his fierce tone when questioning Clinton as a congressman investigating the deadly attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Trump, who trails former Vice President Joe Biden in polls, has been urging Barr to prosecute members of the Obama administration for investigating his campaign’s relationship with Russia.
“To be honest, Bill Barr is going to be considered the best attorney general in the history of the country or it is going to be a very sad situation,” Trump said.
“I mean, I’ll be honest with you, you have all the information you need,” Trump said of the allegations.
READ: US Attorney General in trouble after comparing COVID-19, slavery
Trump has advanced a conspiracy theory that the Obama administration worked to thwart him through actions including investigating Russia’s “hoax.”
An investigation by former FBI Director Robert Mueller found that Russia was seeking to boost Trump’s campaign.
Mueller provided significant evidence that Trump associates coordinated, cooperated, encouraged or supported Russian interference. But the investigator said he did not have enough to charge any member of the conspiracy campaign.
Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, admitted that he lied to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador.
Barr, though he sees no reason to impeach Obama officials over the Russia probe, has been a strong supporter of the president.
Barr was a key figure in the June 1 forced dispersal of anti-racist protesters outside the White House before Trump posed for photos outside a nearby church.
