Over the last month, Donald Trump has done his best to deflect from the ongoing scandal involving Russia. After Trump accused Barack Obama of wiretapping his office, and later pushing the theory that he could have been surveilled by outside sources, one former Repubican member of Congress is coming to his defense.
Bachmann on Trump
Following his inauguration last January, Donald Trump was forced to deal with speculation that himself, and members of his administration, had been linked back to Russia. Reports of Russian interference in the election have become a routine part of daily news briefs, despite push back from the White House and right-wing media outlets.
Whether it's Russian hackers breaking into the emails of the Democratic National Committee, or Trump associates having private meetings with Kremlin officials, the former host of "The Apprentice" reversed course and shifted the narrative. The latest deflection has come in the form of the aforementioned wiretapping conspiracy, though it's been debunked by most credible news outlets, in addition to the FBI and Department of the Justice. Last month, House Intel Chairman Devin Nunes gave Trump just enough life by claiming, without providing evidence, that someone could have possibly spied on Trump Tower during the election, but did rule out that it was Barack Obama. As reported by Raw Story on April 4, a former controversial member of Congress has come to the defense of the new president.
Michele Bachmann: FBI listening in on Trump staffer Russian calls is ‘1000 times worse than Watergate’ https://t.co/KTRZZOs3WA pic.twitter.com/eyYdWFnrvd
— Raw Story (@RawStory) April 4, 2017
During an interview with the right-wing Western Journalism on Monday, former Rep. Michele Bachmann did her best to defend Donald Trump, while criticizing the media for focusing on the Russian scandal.
"This is a thousand times worse than Watergate," Bachmann said of the alleged Trump wiretap surveillance, before adding, "This is the only thing the press should be talking about for the next month." "This makes Watergate pale," she later added. Bachmann's comments stem from a recent story in the conservative media that claimed former National Security Adviser under Obama, Susan Rice, had taken part in the alleged "unmasking" of Trump transition officials, which CNN's Jim Sciutto later referred to as a "distraction."
CNN’s Jim Sciutto: Susan Rice News ‘Appears to Be a Story Largely Ginned Up, Partly as a Distraction’ https://t.co/X8qSPXj2UL (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/gJDloXscwk
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) April 4, 2017
Bachmann's bold claim
"This is against the law," Michele Bachmann continued, while stating, "What the Obama administration did is surveil American citizens for political purposes to hurt the Trump campaign." The former Tea Party favorite went on to accuse Obama of pushing "fake news" as part of the Democratic "lawless" agenda in undermining Donald Trump and his presidency.