Kent Mitchell: Trump sure acting like a man with something to hide
Donald Trump’s initial explanation for the firing of James Comey was that the FBI was in turmoil and that Comey was a “showboat” and a “grandstander.” I was skeptical of that being the true motivation; what does Trump know about showboating or grandstanding? But not long afterward, Trump admitted the firing was due to “this Russia thing.” A day later, in a meeting at the White House with top Russian officials, Trump referred to Comey as a “nut job” and shared the firing “took a great deal of pressure off.”
According to notes kept by Comey, Trump asked for his loyalty at a dinner in January; at a meeting the following month, he asked Comey to drop the probe into Michael Flynn.
In March, Trump made separate appeals to the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and to Michael Rogers, director of the NSA, urging them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election. Both refused, deeming the requests inappropriate.
So, why all this effort by Trump to interfere with the FBI probe into possible collusion between Russia and his campaign? My guess it’s for the same reason he refuses to release his tax returns: He has something to hide.
Kent Mitchell, Riverbank
This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Kent Mitchell: Trump sure acting like a man with something to hide."