Former CIA Director Michael Hayden anticipates many more indictments — including those of Americans — to come in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
Hayden, who was CIA director under President George W. Bush, added that he « would not be surprised » if future indictments were of Americans, citing the seemingly deliberate move to not explicitly deny American involvement in today’s indictment.
« The indictment clearly says, we take no view on whether Americans were involved, » he explained. « It doesn’t say there were no Americans involved. »
Earlier today, White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said the indictments are « consistent with what we have been saying all along. » On Twitter, Trump’s private attorney Rudy Giuliani deemed the indictments « good news, » and called for Mueller’s investigation « to end. »
President Donald Trump called the investigation a « rigged witch hunt, » which « really hurts our country, and it really hurts our relationship with Russia. »
Hayden described Trump’s reaction as a « style of speaking and acting… where (Trump) gets to create his own reality for … the utility of the moment. »
« Here, we’ve got this magnificent read of very rich detail that he still characterizes as a ‘witch hunt,’ » he said.
What Trump must recognize, Hayden said, is the importance of his words, and in particular those uttered on July 26,2016, when Trump expressed hope that Russia would « find the 30,000 emails that are missing » from Hillary Clinton — which, as the indictment states, is what Russian hackers actually tried to do on that day.
« At a minimum, » Hayden said, « it’s very clear evidence that if you say really stupid things, even as a candidate, you put yourself in jeopardy. … (And) that’s where the President is. »
