Trump says he 'never worked for Russia' and calls the question a 'disgrace'

President Trump on Monday firmly denied working for Russia after not explicitly doing so in an interview days earlier.

"I never worked for Russia," Trump told a reporter on the south lawn of the White House. He went on to say that the question itself is a "disgrace" because "it's a whole big fat hoax."

The question came in light of a bombshell report from The New York Times that the FBI opened an inquiry after Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey in order to investigate whether the president was working for Russia. Trump called into Jeanine Pirro's Fox News show this weekend, and when she asked whether he has ever worked for Russia, Trump said it was the "most insulting thing I've ever been asked." But he did not actually use the word "no" in his answer, and The Associated Press reported Monday that Trump's aides had "expressed regret that the president did not more clearly and forcefully deny being a Russian agent."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Trump on Monday referred to the FBI officials who opened this investigation as "dirty cops," also saying that firing Comey was a "great thing I did for our country." Watch Trump's comments below. Brendan Morrow