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Trump wakes up with Russia, and plenty more, on his mind

 
Published July 23, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump woke up Saturday with a lot on his mind.

He was thinking about the Russia investigation, Hillary Clinton, son Don Jr., health care, the commissioning of the USS Gerald Ford, an Islamic State terrorist who may be dead, his attorney general and his new White House communications aide.

It's all there in his Twitter feed.

On a day when most people are ready to step away from the issues that nagged at them during the week, Trump was just revving up. The tweets were unusual in their scope, even for Trump, given the wide range of topics he vented about as Saturday dawned.

He sent 10 tweets starting around 6:30 a.m. and ending shortly before he left the White House on a trip to Norfolk, Va., where he helped hand over a new aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the Navy.

Trump said in one missive: "While all agree the U. S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us. FAKE NEWS."

The Washington Post recently reported that Trump has inquired about the authority he has as president to pardon aides, relatives or even himself in connection with the widening investigation into Russian interference in the election and whether any Trump associates were involved.

The president has long criticized leaks of information about the investigation, and has urged authorities to prosecute leakers.

Trump maintains that no crimes have been committed.

One of Trump's attorneys, Jay Sekulow, said the president has not discussed the issue of pardons with his outside legal team.

Next week, Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.; his son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner; and Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman, are scheduled to appear before Senate committees investigating Russian meddling.

Trump defended his son in one of the tweets, saying he "openly gave his e-mails to the media & authorities whereas Crooked Hillary Clinton deleted (& acid washed) her 33,000 e-mails!" Trump's namesake has become a focus of the investigation after it was revealed that he, Kushner and Manafort met with Russian representatives at Trump Tower in June 2016. Trump Jr. later released email exchanges concerning the meeting on Twitter, after learning that the New York Times was about to publish them.

Trump also complained Saturday about a Washington Post report that the Russian ambassador to the United States said he discussed election-related issues with Jeff Sessions when the men met during the 2016 presidential race. Sessions, now the attorney general, at the time was a U.S. senator and foreign policy adviser to Trump.

Trump tweeted: "A new INTELLIGENCE LEAK from the Amazon Washington Post,this time against A.G. Jeff Sessions.These illegal leaks, like Comey's, must stop!"

Trump also said "Republican Senators must step up to the plate and, after 7 years, vote to Repeal and Replace" the Obama-era health care law. An effort to advance legislation collapsed in the Senate earlier this week after several Republicans said they wouldn't vote for the bill.

Trump ended the tweet with "Tax Reform and Infrastructure. WIN!"