Trump lashes out at own FBI in a series of tweets

President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack Sunday on the credibility of his own FBI, responding to revelations that an FBI agent was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russian election meddling because of anti-Trump text messages.

President Donald Trump gestures as he walks towards Air Force One at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. Trump spent the day in New York attending a trio of fundraisers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Trump, two days after his former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, again denied that he directed FBI Director James Comey to stop investigating Flynn.

The Republican president offered a running Twitter commentary Sunday amid renewed focus on Mueller's probe and Flynn's decision to cooperate with the investigation as part of his plea agreement. Democrats said the developments suggested growing evidence of coordination between Trump's circle and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the panel is beginning to see "the putting together of a case of obstruction of justice" against Trump.

"I think we see this in indictments ... and some of the comments that are being made. I see this in the hyperfrenetic attitude of the White House, the comments every day, the continual tweets," Feinstein said. "And I see it most importantly in what happened with the firing of Director Comey, and it is my belief that that is directly because he did not agree to lift the cloud of the Russia investigation. That's obstruction of justice."

In a series of tweets, Trump questioned the direction of the federal law enforcement agency and wrote that after Comey, whom Trump fired in May, the FBI's reputation is "in Tatters — worst in History!" He vowed to "bring it back to greatness." The president also retweeted a post saying new FBI Director Chris Wray "needs to clean house."

The president seized on reports that a veteran FBI counterintelligence agent was removed from Mueller's team last summer after the discovery of an exchange of text messages that were viewed as potentially anti-Trump. The agent, Peter Strzok, had also worked on the investigation of Democrat Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, said Mueller removed Strzok from the team "immediately upon learning of the allegations." He would not elaborate on the nature of the accusations. The person who discussed the matter with The Associated Press was not authorized to speak about it by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump tweeted Sunday: "Tainted (no, very dishonest?) FBI 'agent's role in Clinton probe under review.' Led Clinton Email probe." In a separate tweet, he wrote: "Report: 'ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT LED CLINTON EMAIL PROBE' Now it all starts to make sense!"

Strzok's removal almost certainly reflected a desire to insulate the investigators from any claims of political bias or favoritism. Trump and many of his supporters have at times sought to discredit the integrity of the investigation, in part by claiming a close relationship between Mueller and Comey and by pointing to political contributions to Democrats made by some lawyers on the team.

Following the tweets, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned the president to tread cautiously. "You tweet and comment regarding ongoing criminal investigations at your own peril. I'd be careful if I were you, Mr. President. I'd watch this," Graham said.

Mueller has been investigating whether Trump campaign associates coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, and Strzok's background in counterintelligence would have been seen as particularly valuable for a secretive FBI probe examining foreign contacts.

Mueller's investigation has so far netted charges against four people, with the most recent criminal case brought Friday when Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted that he "had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!"

The tweet suggested that Trump was aware when the White House dismissed Flynn on Feb. 13 that he had lied to the FBI, which had interviewed him weeks earlier. Comey has said Trump the following day brought up the Flynn investigation in private at the White House and told him he hoped he could "let this go."

Amid questions raised by the tweet, Trump associates tried to put distance Saturday evening between the president himself and the tweet. One person familiar with the situation said the tweet was actually crafted by John Dowd, one of the president's personal attorneys. Dowd declined to comment when reached by the AP on Saturday night.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said given that Mueller could have charged Flynn with more crimes but instead limited it to just one offense, "Bob Mueller must have concluded that he was getting a lot of value in terms of Gen. Flynn's cooperation."

"I do believe he will incriminate others in the administration. Otherwise, there was no reason for Bob Mueller to give Mike Flynn this kind of deal," Schiff said, adding, "Whether that will ultimately lead to the president, I simply don't know."

Feinstein spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press," Graham spoke on CBS' "Face the Nation," and Schiff spoke on ABC's "This Week."

A former government employee has been charged with repeatedly submitting fake tips to the FBI reporting that several of his co-workers in the intelligence community were part of a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to court filings unsealed Friday.

Miguel Eugenio Zapata, 37, was arrested in Chantilly, Virginia, on Thursday on a charge that he made false statements to law enforcement.

Zapata submitted at least seven anonymous tips to the FBI's website claiming that seven government employees and contractors were involved in the Capitol riot, according to an FBI task force officer’s affidavit.

Court records don't identify which government agency employed Zapata, but the affidavit says the Chantilly resident previously worked with all seven people named in his false tips to the FBI. One of them had hired Zapata and served as his program manager.

"None of the seven government employees and contractors were in Washington, D.C., on January 6 or attacked the Capitol," the affidavit says.

The tips included similar language and were submitted from four IP addresses. The affidavit says Zapata used a company's “web anonymizer” service to submit the tips.

The unidentified company's logs showed that Zapata's user account accessed the FBI’s tips site, conducted research on two of his targets, searched Google for the term “fbi mole,” and accessed the website of an Office of Inspector General for an intelligence agency, the affidavit says.

The document doesn't identify a possible motive for making the false reports.

Zapata's first tip, submitted on Feb. 10, 2021, says a former co-worker was trying to overthrow the U.S. government, espouses conspiracy theories and retaliates against colleagues who don't share their political views, according to the affidavit.

Another tip that month accused an intelligence agency contractor of sharing classified information with far-right extremist groups, including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, “to foment terror and incite violence.” Zapata worked with that person from 2017 to 2019, the affidavit says.

The FBI confirmed that all seven people named in the tips were working in Virginia when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, disrupting the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory.

An email seeking comment was sent to an attorney for Zapata.

After the Jan. 6 insurrection, the FBI received tens of thousands of tips from friends, relatives and co-workers of suspected rioters. More than 1,300 people have been charged with participating in the attack.

FILE - Violent insurrectionists breach the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. A former government employee has been charged with repeatedly submitting fake tips to the FBI reporting that several of his co-workers in the intelligence community were part of a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Court records unsealed on Friday, May 3, 2024, say that Miguel Eugenio Zapata was arrested in Chantilly, Virginia, on Thursday on a charge that he made false statements to law enforcement. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)