President Donald Trump's chief of staff Reince Priebus may have broken a White House policy by speaking with the FBI about its Russia investigation, according to a new report.
Politico cites the policy itself, a copy of which it obtained, in claiming that Priebus' conversation with the FBI — during which he tried to convince the bureau that news reports about the Trump's campaign's alleged ties to Russian intelligence were false — broke the rules.
When it comes to specific investigations, only the president, vice president, and White House counsel have authorization to discuss them with the Department of Justice, according to the internal rule that was circulated by Donald McGahn, the counsel to the president.
Last month, Priebus spoke with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe about stories that appeared on CNN and in The New York Times regarding potential ties between Trump's aides and Russian intelligence. Priebus tried to convince McCabe to have the FBI publicly challenge the veracity of the stories, but the bureau denied the request.
A former White House lawyer told Politico regarding Priebus' meeting, "Under this policy, it's totally out of line."
U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia injected itself into last fall's presidential election, and there have been allegations that Trump — or at least people close to him — had illegal ties to America's Cold War foe. No concrete evidence has yet to present itself.
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