ABC News(NEW YORK) — Republican nominee Donald Trump seemed to suggest Wednesday that House Speaker Paul Ryan and other members of the GOP are involved in a “sinister deal” against him.
“There is a whole deal going on and we’re going to figure it out. I always figure things out. But there’s a whole sinister deal going on,” Trump said campaigning Wednesday afternoon in Ocala, Fla.
Though Trump doesn’t spell out what the “deal” is, the candidate criticized Ryan for not showing support of his performance in the second presidential debate.
Ryan has said he will no longer defend Trump in the wake of the release of a 2005 video that shows Trump bragging about his ability to grope women and told Republican lawmakers to “do what’s best for you in your district.” Trump has since apologized for the remarks.
“Wouldn’t you think that Paul Ryan would call and say, Good going?’” Trump said.
Trump also proceeded to attack Congress, for what he sees as a miscarriage of justice regarding Hillary Clinton’s emails. The FBI did not recommend charges against Clinton and the DOJ declined to prosecute Clinton or her aides.
“Congress in all fairness and I am so disappointed in them. I’m talking everybody,” Trump said. “Do they make a deal where everybody protects each other in Washington? Maybe that’s it. I really believe it… This is the most heinous, the most serious thing I’ve ever seen involving justice in the history of the United States.”
The New York businessman expressed additional frustration at the bipartisan organization that organizes the debates, openly questioning members’ political affiliations.
“By the way, you know that so-called Commission on Presidential Debates, the head guy used to work for Bill Clinton,” said Trump. “Did you know that? I just found that out.”
Former Clinton Press Secretary Michael D. McCurry is a co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, a position he shares with Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., a former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
“The head guy worked for Bill Clinton…what a rigged deal this is. But here’s the story, I have no respect for that group, by the way, I have none,” Trump continued. “It sounds good: ‘Presidential Commission.’ Give me a break. That’s why I was so happy what we did to annihilate the enemy the other day. So happy. Because we are dealing against a very dishonest system.”
The Republican nominee also invoked an email of DNC Interim Chair, Donna Brazile, allegedly revealed through WikiLeaks’ publication of supposedly hacked emails of John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, in which she appears to give the Clinton campaign a heads-up about a CNN town hall. Brazile used to be a political commentator for the network and flatly denied doing so.
“As a longtime political activist with deep ties to our party, I supported all of our candidates for president,” Brazile said in a statement Tuesday. “I often shared my thoughts with each and every campaign, and any suggestions that indicate otherwise are simply untrue. As it pertains to the CNN Debates, I never had access to questions and would never have shared them with the candidates if I did.”
Trump joked that he wishes the Republican National Committee would do the same for him.
“Why can’t Reince feed me information prior to a debate? I’m so angry at the Republicans, I want to be fed information like Hillary gets. And we still beat her badly, right? So I mean what’s the big deal. But I want information. The Republicans are not doing their job. They should be able to get all the questions prior to the debate.”
The Clinton campaign has neither confirmed nor denied officially that the emails are genuine, and ABC News has not independently verified the emails. But Podesta, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said, “I think it is clear I’m the victim of a hack,” adding that the matter was being investigated by the FBI.
He alleged that recent hacks of Democratic computers were instigated by Russia. In a joint statement, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said they were “confident” that the Russian government directed the recent compromises of e-mails, including those of U.S. political organizations.
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