US President Donald Trump attends a meeting at the Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center in Sterling, Virginia on February 2, 2018. (AFP / Mandel NGAN)
Washington: US President Donald Trump claimed vindication Saturday in the probe into Russian interference in last year's election, following the release of a controversial memo implying partisanship at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The declassified Republican document released Friday claimed that Democrat-funded research prompted the FBI to spy on a former Trump campaign aide.
"This memo totally vindicates 'Trump' in probe," the president tweeted, referring to himself in the third person.
"But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!"
Democrats and some Republicans say the memo -- drafted by Devin Nunes, a Trump transition official, congressman and House Intelligence Committee chairman -- is a thinly veiled effort to undermine the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties with Russia.
The document has glaring holes, detractors say, and the FBI itself said it had "grave concerns" over its accuracy.
Separately, Trump -- who is spending the weekend at his Florida resort -- crowed on Twitter about his approval ratings.
Rasmussen pollsters "just announced that my approval rating jumped to 49%, a far better number than I had in winning the Election, and higher than certain 'sacred cows.' Other Trump polls are way up also. So why does the media refuse to write this? Oh well, someday!"
It was unclear which "sacred cows" Trump was referring to.
Trump's job approval rating is 41.9 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics average of various polls.
