After six months in the White House, Donald Trump is facing an almost daily barrage of criticism and backlash. Just days after it was revealed that the president was now under investigation for possible Obstruction Of Justice, Newt Gingrich has found himself backed into a corner after coming to the president's defense.
Gingrich on Trump
The 2016 presidential election was unlike any other race in political history. The injection of Donald Trump into American politics changed the game, and not just for the candidates, but for the media and the American people in the process.
Despite Trump's success which found him able to pull off upset victories in both the GOP primary and general election against Hillary Clinton, he's faced mounting pressure over a variety of issues. While policy proposals, executive orders, and controversial rhetoric have come back to haunt him, nothing has been more damaging than the ongoing Russian scandal. Questions were raised during the election of Trump's alleged link to Russia, ranging from his refusal to release his tax returns, to his advisers and associates being linked back to the Kremlin, the issue at hand has only gotten worse since Inauguration Day. Though well-respected news outlets and multiple government agencies have reported that Russia hacked the election in favor of Trump, supporters of the president have dismissed the charges.
One of the president's strongest allies has been former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who was caught making a hypocritical statement this weekend, as reported by CNN on June 18.
It was just last week when the Washington Post revealed that Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who is now special counsel to the Russian investigation, was investigating Donald Trump for obstruction of justice.
The investigation stems from the ongoing Russian investigation, which was added a new twist following Trump's termination of James Comey from the FBI last month.
Coming to the defense of the president over the weekend was Newt Gingrich, who didn't hold back his thoughts about the allegedly "fantasy" that Donald Trump was in collusion with Russia.
"Technically, the President of the United States cannot obstruct justice," Gingrich claimed. "(He's) the chief executive officer of the United States. If he wants to fire the FBI director, all he has to do is just fire him," he added.
Watch Newt Gingrich contradict himself on obstruction of justice: https://t.co/vLESDYruZ6 pic.twitter.com/pDTHVFlc3d
— CNN (@CNN) June 18, 2017
Gingrich busted
In fact-checking Newt Gingrich's defense of Donald Trump over the investigation of obstruction of justice, CNN went back into history from a speech given by the former Speaker of the House in August 1998 when he accused then President Bill Clinton of similar charges, thus contradicting his recent remarks and rendering them hypocritical.
"What you have lived through for two-and-a-half long years is the most systematic, deliberate obstruction of justice," Gingrich was found to have said about Clinton. Since CNN's reporting, Gingrich has not offered a public response.
