US President Donald Trump has poked fun at Senate Minority Leader Dianne Feinstein, one of main Democrats accusing him of “collusion” with Russia, for hiring a driver who is suspected of spying for China.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into reports that Feinstein’s personal driver of about 20 years has been passing secrets to China.
Speaking at an Ohio rally on Saturday, Trump took the opportunity to discuss his trade policies against China, which have seen him place tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, and further blast a high-profile investigation into his ties with Russia, or as he calls it the “witch hunt.”
“Speaking of China, it just came out that the Democratic leader and the leader of the Russian investigation, Dianne Feinstein, had a Chinese spy as her driver for 20 years!” Trump told the crowd. “And she's leading the Russian investigation if that's what you call it. How about she's leading the Russia witch hunt!”
The Republican head of state said he liked the California Democrat but “I don't like the fact that she had a Chinese spy driving her and she didn't know it.”
“Then she says to me, 'Well, what did you know about this and that,' I mean, give me a break, c'mon folks,” Trump told the crowd.
Trump wrongly claimed that Feinstein was responsible for the probe which is led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller under the authority of Trump’s own Justice Department.
Feinstein has downplayed the allegations, noting that the case was from five years ago and the person in question had never accessed “sensitive information.”
“The FBI told me 5 years ago it had concerns that China was seeking to recruit an administrative member of my Calif staff (despite no access to sensitive information). I took those concerns seriously, learned the facts and made sure the employee left my office immediately,” she wrote in a tweet.
Trump said at the rally that he expected more meddling of this kind in future over his trade policies.
“We got to stop meddling. We got to stop everyone from attacking us but there are a lot,” he said. “I guarantee you it's gonna happen really big now because we are taking our wealth back.”