President Trump compared the Russian investigation to the McCarthy hearings on Wednesday morning.
Just before 9 a.m., the president tweeted that "at least 3 major players are intimating that the Angry Mueller Gang of Dems is viciously telling witnesses to lie about facts & they will get relief. This is our Joseph McCarthy Era!"
The president could be referencing the recent news involving Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman, who struck a plea deal to cooperate with the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference in exchange for a shorter prison sentence.
It's unclear exactly who he's referring to, and Trump didn't specify who the "3 major players" were who intimated this allegation.
In court filings earlier this week, Mueller accused Manafort of lying to investigators, which would violate the terms of the deal.
The New York Times then reported that Manafort has remained in contact with Trump's legal team after cutting the plea deal, which, while not illegal, is highly unusual and could be a sign that he was playing both sides and holding out for a presidential pardon.
By comparing Mueller to McCarthy, Trump accuses the special counsel of orchestrating a witch hunt when it comes to the Russia investigation.
Mueller's probe is looking into whether the Trump campaign violated American law by conspiring with the Russian government to help win the 2016 presidential election, and Trump's attacks on the legitimacy of the investigation have ramped up of late.
Joseph McCarthy was a senator from Wisconsin who held a set of hearings in the mid-1950s to out what he believed was a Communist conspiracy in the US. There was no such socialist plot, but the hearings raged on and many were jailed because McCarthy intimidated witnesses to out one another in exchange for shorter prison sentences.
This isn't the first time that Trump has compared the Russia investigation to the McCarthy era.
In August, he tweeted to his followers to "study the late Joseph McCarthy, because we are now in [a] period with Mueller and his gang that make Joseph McCarthy look like a baby. Rigged Witch Hunt!"
After Trump sent the McCarthy tweet Wednesday morning, he went on a spree retweeting disparaging videos, comments, and memes about his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, General Motors, and "criminal illegals".
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