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As it happenedended1560532585

Trump news: President lashes out at ‘nation of terror’ Iran over oil tanker attacks and questions ex-adviser’s Mueller evidence

Another day of chaotic news swirling around the White House

Chris Riotta
New York
,Joe Sommerlad
Friday 14 June 2019 14:33 BST
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Trump blames Iran over oil tanker attacks

Donald Trump has insisted that Iran is responsible for an attack on two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, after the Pentagon released night-vision footage of what it says is an Iranian navy boat retrieving an unexploded mine from the hull of one of the targets.

Phoning in to Fox and Friends for an interview on his 73rd birthday, the president said: ”Iran did do it. You know they did it because you saw the boat.”

Meanwhile in an ABC interview, Mr Trump questioned the testimony given to the Mueller investigation by ex-White House counsel Don McGahn, saying the adviser “may have been confused” when he said under oath that his former employer instructed him to fire the special counsel.

He also said Friday that "of course" he would go to the FBI or the attorney general if a foreign power offered him dirt about an opponent.

It was an apparent walk back from his earlier comments that he might not contact law enforcement in such a situation.

Mr Trump, in an interview Friday with "Fox & Friends," said he would look at the information in order to determine whether or not it was "incorrect."

But he added that, "of course you give it to the FBI or report it to the attorney general or somebody like that."

Earlier in the week, Mr Trump had told ABC News that he would consider accepting information from an outside nation and might not contact law enforcement.

His assertion that he would be open to accepting a foreign power's help in his 2020 campaign had ricocheted through Washington, with Democrats condemning it as a call for further election interference and Republicans struggling to defend his comments.

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The birthday celebrations continue rolling in for Donald Trump from his family members - 

Chris Riotta14 June 2019 15:15
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Donald Trump seemingly wants to redo the interior for Air Force One, according to his Fox News interview - 

Chris Riotta14 June 2019 15:35
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The president also appeared to at least somewhat walk back his comments about accepting dirt on opponents in the 2020 race from foreign sources -

Chris Riotta14 June 2019 15:55
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Donald Trump has ramped up his attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election, disputing his own former White House counsel’s testimony in a new interview. 

Donald McGahn, who previously served under Mr Trump before departing from the White House last year, “may have been confused” during his interview with the special counsel, the president told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. 

"The story on that very simply, No. 1, I was never going to fire Mueller,” Mr Trump said in a portion of the interview released on Friday.

“I never suggested firing Mueller," he added. 

Story to come...

Chris Riotta14 June 2019 16:15
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California Democrat Ted Lieu is trolling Donald Trump's controversial comments on accepting foreign dirt on his opponents - 

Chris Riotta14 June 2019 16:37
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Reports indicate the president has spoken with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about the oil tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman - 

Chris Riotta14 June 2019 16:57
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A new report shows how members of the Trump family are continuing to profit from their private business dealings while running the country - 

Chris Riotta14 June 2019 17:17
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This concludes today's live coverage on Donald Trump. Read below for live updates as the came in, and have a great weekend! We'll see you Monday.

Chris Riotta14 June 2019 18:06

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