'Stupid' Trump Letter to Pelosi Shows President Is 'Freaking Out,' Former Clinton Press Secretary Says
A former White House press secretary has suggested that President Donald Trump is lashing out at his Democratic opponents for fear that they will uncover his alleged improper connections with Russia.
Joe Lockhart served as President Bill Clinton's press secretary from 1998 to 2000. On Tuesday, he condemned Trump's letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in which the president accused the Democrats of declaring "open war on American democracy."
"Forget @realDonaldTrump stupid letter," Lockhart wrote on Twitter. "Concentrate on the Russian money. That's why he's freaking out."
Lockhart neither expounded on the allegation, nor provided any evidence for the assertion that Trump has inappropriate financial ties to Russia. Newsweek has contacted Lockhart's for an elaboration and the White House for a response.
Allegations of collusion with the Russian government have swirled around Trump since he announced his candidacy in 2015.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into the allegations found insufficient evidence to conclude a criminal conspiracy between Trump and Moscow, though Mueller said it would not be accurate to say there was no evidence of coordination.
Trump has a decades-long financial relationship with Russia and wealthy Russians. Indeed, according to Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, the president's efforts to secure a Trump Tower project in Moscow lasted many years and continued into the 2016 election campaign.
Trump has dismissed all suggestions of links with Russia. In 2017, for example, he tweeted, "Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!"
Trump's "stupid letter" to Pelosi, as Lockhart described it, comprised six pages of condemnation and accusations over the Democratic effort to impeach the president.
Representatives look set to make Trump only the third U.S. president in history to be impeached on Wednesday, with lawmakers expected to vote along party lines.
Trump told Pelosi he was writing the letter "for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record. 100 years from now, when people look back at this affair, I want them to understand it, and learn from it, so that it can never happen to another president again."
The president also claimed, "More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials," continuing, "There are not many people who could have taken the punishment inflicted during this period of time, and yet done so much for the success of America and its citizens."
"You have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment!" Trump added.
