Kellyanne Conway, the Counselor to the President under Donald Trump, appeared on Fox News on Monday morning to denounce a recent story from The New York Times detailing FBI investigations into whether the president has been compromised by Russia.
During the interview, Conway tried to spin away the Times' report by arguing that it was insulting to the president — and, more notably, that it confirms the president's longstanding claim that there is a so-called "deep state" conspiracy against him.
"Well the president said this weekend that it's the most insulting thing he's ever been asked, that's ever been said about him, which is saying a great deal given everything that's been said and done about him," Conway told the hosts of "Fox & Friends."
She then added, "The other thing is, I have a slightly different view on it, which is it sort of confirms what the president has said all along about some of the rogue actors at the very tippy-top of the FBI who are no longer there because they were fired and worse. Some of them were deemed to be leaking and lying, sexting each other obviously with their tremendous biases against this president. So I think it confirms what he has said all along about some of those rogue actors — not the 35,000 or so rank and file men and women in the FBI who go to work and do a fabulous job every day."
Conway also tried to argue that the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller hasn't turned up any proof of collusion, despite the criminal convictions of top Trump campaign officials like former campaign chairman Paul Manafort (who had previously worked for a Putin puppet, former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych).
"Also I think the headline could have said what so many of these stories could have said and never do which is that 'Investigation opened up, no fruits came of it. Nothing came of it.' And I think that that's really the important part of this, is that two-and-a-half years into this, and millions and millions of dollars, we are yet to see proof of any collusion," Conway told the "Fox & Friends" hosts.
The New York Times' story was one of two damning pieces released about Trump's relationship with Russia over the weekend. The other, published by The Washington Post, described how "former U.S. officials said that Trump’s behavior is at odds with the known practices of previous presidents, who have relied on senior aides to witness meetings and take comprehensive notes then shared with other officials and departments."
Bill Browder, a British businessman who has successfully pushed for economic sanctions against Russia in response to its human rights violations, told Salon back in July when asked about whether Trump has been compromised by Putin:
"I have no idea what motivates his behavior. All I can say is that the idea that he seemed to entertain for a few days of handing me and 11 Americans over to Vladimir Putin for our work on the Magnitsky Act seemed pretty horrifying."
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