A former White House ethics lawyer slammed President Donald Trump's tweet blasting FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, calling the president's response "stupid" on CNN Thursday.
"In and of itself I don't think this tweet would lead to a criminal charge," Richard Painter, who served in former President George W. Bush's administration, said on CNN's "New Day," after Trump tweeted that McCabe "is racing the clock to retire with full benefits," and questioning his objectivity.
"The problem is, this is part of a pattern of the president injecting himself into the Russia investigation, first by asking Director [James] Comey for loyalty, pressuring Director Comey to not go after Gen. [Michael] Flynn, and then drop the Russia investigation and firing Comey."
Trump tweeted:
Painted added, "if this tweet were combined with any other action by the president or people working for him, to retaliate against Director McCabe in his capacity as deputy director of the FBI, then you could get to the point where there was witness intimidation."
Painter also said that Trump's tweeting about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference is "stupid" while the probe continues to involve former members of his campaign staff.
"This is an incriminating tweet," he said. "It was a very, very stupid thing for him to do, to tweet that out."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.