Trump briefly acknowledges Russia helped him get elected

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump briefly acknowledged in a tweet on Thursday that Russia helped him get elected but quickly backtracked in comments to reporters.

Trump until now has said adamantly that he won the 2016 election fair and square, downplaying the impact of what US intelligence agencies say was a concerted Russian effort to meddle in his favour.

"Russia, Russia, Russia! That’s all you heard at the beginning of this Witch Hunt Hoax," Trump tweeted a day after Special Counsel Robert Mueller spoke publicly for the first time since the release of his report on collusion during the election campaign and possible obstruction of justice afterwards.

"And now Russia has disappeared because I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected," Trump added. He again complained of being a victim of what he called presidential harassment.

Trump later appeared to recognise the lapse, telling reporters on the White House South Lawn, "No, Russia did not get me elected". Mueller in his remarks declined to clear Trump of obstruction of justice.

He said that under longstanding Justice Department policy he could not bring charges against a sitting president, effectively leaving it up to Congress to decide whether to begin impeachment proceedings.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said on Thursday he "couldn’t care less" whether a US Navy destroyer bears the name of his late rival John McCain, but insisted he would not have ordered hiding the vessel from view during his Japan trip.

US media reported that efforts were made to obscure the USS John S. McCain’s name during Trump’s visit to an American military facility in Japan on Tuesday, accusations also denied by the Pentagon.

"I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t involved. I would not have done that," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about the incident. "I wasn’t a fan of John McCain and never will be," Trump added, acknowledging he was "very angry" with the senator, a fellow Republican, for blocking Trump’s 2017 effort to dismantle the existing health care law.

"But I certainly couldn’t care less whether or not there’s a boat named after his father." Crew serving aboard the 154-meter vessel, whose uniforms bear the ship’s name, were prevented from attending a speech Trump delivered from a neighbouring ship, the reports said.

Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Thursday denied approving plans to hide the destroyer, which was originally named after McCain’s grandfather and father -- both US Navy admirals -- and was rededicated to include senator McCain as a namesake.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, said Shanahan was aware of concern about the ship’s name and "approved measures to ensure it didn’t interfere with the president’s visit." But Shanahan, currently in Asia on a regional tour, denied any involvement.

"I never authorised and never approved any action around the movement or activity regarding that ship," he told reporters. He said he would "never dishonour the memory of a great American patriot like John McCain," and would "never disrespect the young men and women that crew that ship."

Shanahan said he had asked his chief of staff to look into the matter, and Trump himself said "we’ll probably be able to find out who" sought to hide the ship and its name. "Somebody did it because they thought I didn’t like him, OK?" Trump said. "They were well-meaning".

The Journal said the request came from an official briefed by the White House and the Seventh Fleet, which is based in Japan. "USS John McCain needs to be out of sight," the email seen by the Journal said. "Please confirm #3 will be satisfied," it added, referring to the request.

The order apparently posed a conundrum because the ship was undergoing repairs and would have been difficult to move before Trump’s Tuesday visit. In response, a tarpaulin was hung over the ship’s name, the Journal said. The tarpaulin was removed before Trump arrived, but a barge was moved closer to the ship, blocking the view of its name.