It's Kind of Disturbing that Trump Called a Congressional Investigation a 'Witch Hunt'

It isn’t news that President Trump and his team have been in hot water over the campaign's alleged ties with Russia. It's gotten to the point where the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are investigating how much Russia may have influenced the election. And in case you were wondering what Trump thinks about that, the President of the United States has branded a congressional investigation a mere "witch hunt."

The witch hunt comment came after news outlets reported that Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was offering to testify in the investigation in exchange for immunity from prosecution (an offer that has, for the time being, been rejected). A senior White House source told CBS News that Flynn was forced to resign last month. Flynn has previously admitted to providing “incomplete information regarding [his] phone calls with the Russian Ambassador.” Since his resignation, Flynn’s attorney, Robert Kelner, claims that Flynn wants to testify in the U.S. intelligence investigation because “he has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit.”

Trump took to Twitter to share his presidential opinion with the world. Naturally.

So what is a witch hunt? Obviously, Trump can’t be talking about the infamous Salem witch hunts (and the witch trials that followed). The definition of a political witch hunt is an investigation directed toward a person, a party or an administration solely based on their unpopular views. The witch hunt generally originates from public fears.

Instead of respecting the House and Senate officials’ duty to investigate a potential issue of national security, Trump has defamed the investigation by labeling it a “witch hunt.” It’s alarming that any president would try to slander a national investigation. Not only has Trump smeared the credibility of the investigation, he's also claimed that the examination is essentially a conspiracy curated by journalists and Democrats. Though let's be real, he's probably only referring to liberal media sources, not the media in general.

However, this isn’t the first time Trump has dubbed a national investigation as a “witch hunt.” During an interview with The New York Times earlier this year, he claimed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s initial investigation on Russia’s impact in the presidential election was a "political witch hunt.”

The whole situation just seems suspicious. On one hand, we have the president who claims the entire investigation is a “witch hunt,” which would imply that nothing negative will be found during the House and Senate’s investigation. On the other hand, we have a recently abdicated employee who is seeking immunity from the inspection. Something just doesn’t seem to add up.

Either nothing will be revealed from the investigation, or the campaign did have ties with Russia. Otherwise, each party’s story could have merit. Maybe there wasn’t a connection to Russia during the election, but maybe Flynn did something questionable and he’s afraid it could be uncovered during the investigation. Who knows? Regardless, something  dubious is afoot.