John Dowd, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, told CNN Sunday that he wrote a tweet for the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account about the firing of former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
"I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies,” Saturday afternoon’s tweet reads. “It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!”
Dowd said he drafted the tweet, adding that White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino posted it online, CNN reported.
Dowd refused to answer more questions, or whether Trump reviewed the tweet before it was posted.
“Enough already,” Dowd said in an email. “I don't feed the haters.”
The Washington Post reported Saturday that Dowd drafted the tweet, citing two people familiar with the Twitter message. NBC News' Chuck Todd also reported Sunday on "Meet the Press" that Dowd confirmed he authored the message.
Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about talks he had with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the transition from Barack Obama’s administration to Trump’s. Flynn also said he was cooperating with the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, CNN reported.
Dowd previously told CNN the tweet paraphrased White House special counsel Ty Cobb's Friday statement on Flynn's guilty plea.
“The tweet was a paraphrase of Ty Cobb's statement yesterday,” Dowd told CNN. “I refer you to (former FBI Director James) Comey's testimony before Congress about FBI view of Flynn's answers.”
Comey said in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee in June that Trump pressed him to end the investigation into Flynn, CNN reported. Trump has denied Comey’s claims and on Sunday morning sent a tweet calling it a “Comey lie.”
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