President Trump claimed he never said Russia did not interfere in the 2016 election, and that when he called the Russia investigation a hoax he was only referring to the charge that his campaign colluded with the Kremlin.

“I never said Russia did not meddle in the election, I said ‘it may be Russia, or China or another country or group, or it may be a 400 pound genius sitting in bed and playing with his computer.’ The Russian ‘hoax’ was that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia - it never did!” Trump tweeted.

I never said Russia did not meddle in the election, I said “it may be Russia, or China or another country or group, or it may be a 400 pound genius sitting in bed and playing with his computer.” The Russian “hoax” was that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia - it never did! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018



The tweet was a part of a deluge of tweets from the president Sunday morning. He also ruminated on a $1.7 billion payment to Iran as a part of the nuclear deal with that country and sarcastically thanked Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for putting some blame on former President Barack Obama for Russian meddling in 2016.

Trump has spent much of his time in office calling the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and whether his campaign colluded with the Kremlin to get elected, a “witch hunt,” “phony,” and many other negative terms.

Trump has previously said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Russia did not interfere in the election and that he believed Putin when he said it. He’s also repeatedly claimed Democrats made up the story that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in order to deflect blame for his victory over Hillary Clinton.

"Every time he sees me, he says, 'I didn't do that,'" Trump said in November. "And I believe, I really believe, that when he tells me that, he means it."

However, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians and detailed a long plan by a Russian firm to run an influence campaign on the 2016 election on Friday. The indictment spelled out how the firm wanted to sow political discord in the United States and eventually developed a preference for Trump over Clinton and worked to help him get elected.

There’s no statement in the indictment alleging members of Trump’s campaign worked with the Russians knowingly.

Trump later chided CNN for their coverage of the investigation.

"The Fake News of big ratings loser CNN," Trump tweeted.