Citing Russia’s meddling and a new watchdog investigation into the actions of the FBI heading into the November election, former Hillary Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon on Friday openly questioned the “legitimacy” of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
Mr. Fallon told CNN that Mr. Trump has been lashing out on Twitter — including his shots against the U.S. intelligence community and new barbs launched at the Clinton campaign on Friday morning on Twitter — because there are now credible questions about the nature of his electoral victory.
“I think those tweets are just the latest indication that Donald Trump is someone who is very insecure in his victory, and I understand why,” Mr. Fallon said Friday. “Every day there are new developments, new shoes dropping so to speak, that call into question the legitimacy of his win.”
The tweets in question came Friday morning, when Mr. Trump tried to shoot down the idea that the FBI’s investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s private email server aided his victory. FBI Director James B. Comey infamously announced just days before the Nov. 8 election that he was reopening that investigation, and Mr. Fallon and other Clinton aides believe that decision may have tipped the election to Mr. Trump.
“What are Hillary Clinton’s people complaining about with respect to the F.B.I. Based on the information they had she should not have been allowed to run — guilty as hell,” the president-elect tweeted. “They were VERY nice to her. She lost because she campaigned in the wrong states — no enthusiasm.”
A Justice Department watchdog now is investigating whether political motives played a role in Mr. Comey’s moves in the run-up to the election.
Mr. Fallon also said it’s clear that Russia’s hacking into Democratic National Committee emails helped Mr. Trump win the election, and suggested that the president-elect has tried to downplay Russia’s involvement to maintain his own credibility. Mr. Trump conceded Thursday that the hack appears to have come from Russia, though he’s continued to publicly question the intelligence community.
“I think Donald Trump is just trying to cling to whatever legitimacy still is in effect here,” Mr. Fallon said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.