President Donald Trump lashed out at the FBI Saturday night, saying the agency "missed all of the many signals" sent by the suspect in the Florida school shooting and arguing they are "spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign."
Trump said on Twitter: "This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!"
President Donald Trump, left, accompanied by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, right, speaks as they meet with law enforcement officers at Broward County Sheriff's Office in Pompano Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, following Wednesday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The FBI received a tip last month that the suspect in the Florida school shooting had a "desire to kill" and access to guns and could be plotting an attack. But the agency said Friday that agents failed to investigate.
The FBI's acknowledgment that it mishandled the tip prompted a sharp rebuke from its boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and a call from Florida's Republican Gov. Rick Scott, a Trump ally, for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign.
Trump and other Republicans have heavily criticized the FBI. They are still dissatisfied with its decision not to charge Hillary Clinton with crimes related to her use of a private email server, and they see signs of bias in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of possible Trump campaign ties to Russia.
The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The deal has not been finalized, and no money has been paid, the source said on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak before a formal announcement.
An internal investigation found that FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations by women more than a year before Nassar was arrested in 2016.
The settlement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.
Nassar was a Michigan State University sports doctor as well as a doctor at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. He is serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of treatment.
Lawyers filed claims against the government, focusing on a 15-month period when FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against Nassar but apparently took no action, beginning in 2015. The Justice Department inspector general confirmed fundamental errors.
Nassar’s assaults continued until his arrest in fall 2016, authorities said.
The assault survivors include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.
“I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. “And I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed.”
The Michigan attorney general’s office ultimately handled the assault charges against Nassar, while federal prosecutors in western Michigan filed a child sex abuse images case against him.
Michigan State University, which was also accused of missing chances over many years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee made a $380 million settlement.
FILE - Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, center left, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., attend a news conference with dozens of women and girls who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar, a former doctor for Michigan State University athletics and USA Gymnastics, July 24, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 sexual assault victims of Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
