Russian President Vladimir Putin made several false and misleading claims during his press conference in Finland with President Donald Trump and in an interview with Fox News.
FactChecking Russian President Putin
Issues: Russia investigation
Trump’s Remarks on Putin and the Russia Investigation
Asked whether he believed U.S. intelligence agencies or Russian President Vladimir Putin on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election, President Donald Trump declined to directly respond. Instead, he raised questions about the Russia investigation.
Trump Misleads on IG Report
President Donald Trump said he thinks former FBI Director James Comey committed “very criminal acts.” But the facts don’t support the president’s opinion. Trump also claimed the inspector general’s report “totally exonerates” him, but the report didn’t evaluate the Russia investigation.
Was Mueller’s Appointment ‘Unconstitutional’?
In his latest attack on the Russia investigation, President Donald Trump tweeted, “The appointment of the Special Counsel is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!” This amounts to Trump’s opinion, and is a matter of debate among constitutional scholars.
A Timeline of Trump Tower Meeting Responses
In a recently disclosed letter, President Donald Trump’s attorneys said the president “dictated” his son’s statement to the New York Times about a June 2016 meeting between top Trump campaign aides and a Russian lawyer. That contradicts earlier claims by Trump’s representatives.
Trump Misquotes Clapper on FBI ‘Spy’
In a morning tweetstorm on the Russia investigation, President Donald Trump misquoted James Clapper. Trump claimed the former intelligence director said, “Trump should be happy that the FBI was SPYING on his campaign,” when, in fact, Clapper said the FBI did not spy on his campaign.
Trump’s Misleading Attack on Mueller Team
President Donald Trump made several misleading comments when questioning the impartiality of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and his investigative team.
Trump’s False ‘No Collusion’ Tweet
President Donald Trump falsely claimed in a tweet that there were “No questions on Collusion” in a list of questions the special counsel reportedly has for the president. There are several inquiries about possible collusion among the questions published by the New York Times.
Trump Wrong on Comey ‘Leak,’ McCabe Funds
President Donald Trump claimed a memo that former FBI Director James Comey gave to a friend “in order to get a special counsel against me” was “all classified … totally classified.” That’s wrong. It was unclassified at the time and remains unclassified.
Bogus Story on Cohen Raid
Q: Did a federal judge rule that evidence collected from Michael Cohen’s office is inadmissible?
A: No. That claim was invented by a website that labels its content as satire.