Trump: '13 angry Democrats' on Mueller team should be wary

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Monday he was "Fighting Back" against the Russia probe and warned the "13 Angry Democrats" on the special counsel's team to "just wait 'till the Courts get to see your unrevealed Conflicts of Interest!"

Trump also suggested special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia was politically motivated.

"Is this Phony Witch Hunt going to go on even longer so it wrongfully impacts the Mid-Term Elections, which is what the Democrats always intended?" Trump tweeted. "Republicans better get tough and smart before it is too late."

Mueller is also examining whether there was any effort to obstruct his investigation. To that, Trump tweeted Monday, "There is no O, it's called Fighting Back."

In a series of tweets, nearly a dozen, the president touched on a range of subjects, but kept returning to the Russia probe. He repeated his earlier claim Mueller's team is made up of Democrats.

"The 13 Angry Democrats in charge of the Russian Witch Hunt are starting to find out that there is a Court System in place that actually protects people from injustice...and just wait 'till the Courts get to see your unrevealed Conflicts of Interest!"

Trump had applauded Friday when a federal judge questioned Mueller's authority in a case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Mueller is a longtime Republican. Some members of his team made political contributions to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton. But Mueller could not have barred them from serving on the team. Federal regulations and Justice Department policy prohibit the consideration of political affiliation in hiring and other personnel actions involving career attorneys.

Trump also criticized FBI lawyer Lisa Page and FBI agent Peter Strzok, who made headlines for exchanging derogatory text messages about Trump. Trump noted Page has left the bureau and asked "Why is Peter S still there? What a total mess. Our Country has to get back to Business!"

Text messages between Page and Strzok, who was assigned to Mueller's investigation, show them expressing negative views about Trump and referring to him in derogatory ways. Strzok was reassigned from the special counsel team after the text messages were brought to Mueller's attention. Page had already left the Mueller team.