
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump accused the Justice Department Tuesday of being part of the ‘‘deep state’’ and urged prosecution against a top aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.
He also claimed that U.S. sanctions on North Korea were having a ‘‘big impact’’ and that he was responsible for preventing commercial aviation deaths in 2017.
Trump’s latest tweets pressed familiar arguments for the president, who is set to begin his first full year in office with the victory of tax legislation but the Russia investigation still hanging over his administration.
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Crooked Hillary Clinton?s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
“Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents,’’ Trump tweeted in an apparent reference to a report by the conservative Daily Caller.
‘‘Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others,’’ he added.
As he remains shadowed by the special counsel’s Russia investigation, Trump has seized on recent revelations of anti-Trump behavior by some FBI officials, including some who once worked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, to claim bias against him.
The president’s reference Tuesday to ‘‘Deep State Justice Dept’’ suggests that federal law enforcement is part of an entrenched bureaucracy that Trump and his supporters say didn’t want him to be elected and is actively working to undermine his presidency.
Trump’s reference to sailors likely referred to a Navy sailor convicted of taking photos of classified areas inside a submarine.
Trump continued tweeting on Tuesday on a variety of topics.
Thank you to Brandon Judd of the National Border Patrol Council for your kind words on how well we are doing at the Border. We will be bringing in more & more of your great folks and will build the desperately needed WALL! @foxandfriends
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Companies are giving big bonuses to their workers because of the Tax Cut Bill. Really great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Sanctions and ?other? pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not - we will see!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
The Failing New York Times has a new publisher, A.G. Sulzberger. Congratulations! Here is a last chance for the Times to fulfill the vision of its Founder, Adolph Ochs, ?to give the news impartially, without fear or FAVOR, regardless of party, sect, or interests involved.? Get...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
....impartial journalists of a much higher standard, lose all of your phony and non-existent ?sources,? and treat the President of the United States FAIRLY, so that the next time I (and the people) win, you won?t have to write an apology to your readers for a job poorly done! GL
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Democrats are doing nothing for DACA - just interested in politics. DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start ?falling in love? with Republicans and their President! We are about RESULTS.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
We will not rest until all of America?s GREAT VETERANS can receive the care they so richly deserve. Tremendous progress has been made in a short period of time. Keep up the great work @SecShulkin @DeptVetAffairs! https://t.co/ir25vW15hx pic.twitter.com/OtuzIgxMn6
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Congratulations to Senator Orrin Hatch on an absolutely incredible career. He has been a tremendous supporter, and I will never forget the (beyond kind) statements he has made about me as President. He is my friend and he will be greatly missed in the U.S. Senate! pic.twitter.com/0VjzLEeHTl
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
It's not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others. As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don?t even want to negotiate a long overdue...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
...peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Trump’s blast at the Justice Department came after he returned to the White House from a holiday getaway to face legislative challenges, midterm elections and global threats. He issued confrontational tweets targeting Iran, which in recent days has been rocked by anti-government protests, and Pakistan.
‘‘The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their ‘pockets.’ The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!’’
The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their ?pockets.? The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
On Monday, Trump slammed Pakistan for ‘‘lies & deceit,’’ saying it had played U.S. leaders for ‘‘fools’’ by not doing enough to control militants.
The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018
Pakistani officials, including Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, said the country would make clear ‘‘the difference between facts and fiction.’’
It was not immediately clear what prompted Trump to comment on Pakistan. The U.S. has long accused Pakistan of allowing militants to operate relatively freely in its border regions to carry out operations in neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. said in August that it would hold up $255 million in military assistance for Pakistan until it cracks down on extremists threatening Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday the United States should be aware that his country’s nuclear forces are now a reality, not a future threat. To that, Trump said only: ‘‘We'll see.’’
Sanctions and ?other? pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not - we will see!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
At home, Trump is hoping for more legislative achievements after his success on cutting taxes. He plans to host Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin at Camp David next weekend to map out the 2018 legislative agenda.
Republicans are eager to make progress before attention shifts to the November midterm elections. The GOP wants to hold the House and Senate, but must contend with Trump’s historic unpopularity and some recent Democratic wins, including the pickup of a Senate seat in deeply Republican Alabama.
The White House has said Trump will come forward with his long-awaited infrastructure plan in January. Trump has also said he wants to overhaul welfare and recently predicted Democrats and Republicans will ‘‘eventually come together’’ to develop a new health care plan.
Ryan has talked about overhauling Medicaid and Medicare and other safety-net programs, but McConnell has signaled an unwillingness to go that route unless there’s Democratic support for any changes. Republicans will have just a 51-49 Senate majority — well shy of the 60 votes needed to pass most bills — giving leverage to Democrats.
Congress also has to deal with a backlog from 2017, including agreeing on a spending bill by Jan. 19 to avert a partial government shutdown. There’s also providing additional aid to hurricane victims, lifting the debt ceiling, extending a children’s health insurance program and extending protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Trump has said he wants money for a border wall in exchange for protecting those immigrants.