US President Donald Trump says alleged misdeeds by ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort were "years ago" and asserted there was "NO COLLUSION!" between his campaign and the Russian government.
Responding to news that two former senior campaign aides were charged by special counsel Robert Mueller, the president asked on Twitter why "Crooked Hillary & Dems" aren't the focus of the probe.
His Twitter response marked the first official comment by the White House on the news that Manafort and Rick Gates turned themselves in to federal authorities in the first arrests in Mueller's probe into Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
The indictment against Manafort and Gates alleges criminal activity through "at least 2016".
On Monday, Mueller's office announced that another Trump aide, George Papadopolous, had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a Russian national during his time on the Trump campaign.
Trump and the White House insist there was no collusion between his presidential campaign and Russia. Both have pointed a finger at Clinton and have suggested that the real story of collusion with Russia is the sale of uranium to Moscow when Clinton was secretary of state.
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered with the election to benefit Trump, a finding that Trump has not fully accepted. Mueller and congress are looking into allegations of ties between Trump associates and Russia.
