President Donald Trump on Monday made his first public comments following the confirmed indictment of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, tweeting "this is years ago" and wondering why "Crooked Hillary" Clinton is not the focus.
Manafort, who briefly headed Trump's campaign in 2016 before getting forced out in August, surrendered to federal authorities and was taken into custody on charges that he laundered more than $18 million from work for a pro-Russia party in Ukraine, according to the Wall Street Journal. He and longtime business partner Richard Gates were indicted on 12 counts.
The charges were the first handed down in the wide-ranging Russia investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but the indictment did not mention the Trump campaign or collusion with the Russians.
"Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????" Trump tweeted.
He then wrote, "Also, there is NO COLLUSION!"
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/925005659569041409
....Also, there is NO COLLUSION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2017