On Friday, 16 February, the White House released a statement in which it says “there was NO COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and Russia and that the outcome of the election was not changed or affected.”
The statement follows indictments by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities for meddling in the 2016 Presidential election.
According to the statement, “President Donald J. Trump has been fully briefed on this matter. And is quoted as having said, “It is more important than ever before to come together as Americans. We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful. It’s time we stop the outlandish partisan attacks, wild and false allegations, and far-fetched theories, which only serve to further the agendas of bad actors, like Russia, and do nothing to protect the principles of our institutions. We must unite as Americans to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections.”
Trump later qualified the statement on social media, saying “Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President. The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!”
