Trump: If Russia 'had anything on me, it would have come out a long time ago'

President Trump declared Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation a "cloud" that has now been lifted in his first interview since the probe's completion.

Trump told Sean Hannity in a Fox News interview on Wednesday night that the investigation was a "ridiculous thing that happened," adding that he's "getting to the bottom" of how it started and promising to release documents related to the probe, including the FISA warrants he previously said he would declassify.

This interview came after Attorney General William Barr told Congress that Mueller did not find evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, but that Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. In light of Mueller's findings, Trump told Hannity that if Russia "had anything on me, it would have come out a long time ago, probably a long time before I ran."

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That, he argued, is because Russia would have been "better off" with Hillary Clinton as president. In fact, Trump argued, Russia was not even really in favor of him winning the 2016 election. Moscow was "for and against both" candidates, he said, and "would much rather have Hillary than Donald Trump." This contradicts the conclusion of federal investigators that Russia wanted Trump to win the 2016 election, notes Politico.

The president spent much of his interview attacking his enemies, such as House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who he said should be "forced out of office" because "it's a crime, what he did," referring to his suggestions that Trump colluded with Russia. "He knew he was lying," Trump claimed. He also again accused former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page of treason and likened the whole Russia probe to an "attempted takeover of our government." Watch the full interview below. Brendan Morrow