Rice requested the unmasking of some American names in U.S. intelligence reports but denied doing so for political reasons and said she had never leaked politically charged information to the media.

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“Susan E. Rice, the former National Security Advisor to President Obama, is refusing to testify before a Senate Subcommittee next week on allegations of unmasking Trump transition officials,” the president wrote in a pair of tweets. “Not good!”

On Wednesday, Rice's lawyer informed the Senate subcommittee that she would not testify because she had not received a bipartisan invitation from the subcommittee's top members.

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Trump's tweet attacking Rice came just two days after he also criticized FBI Director James B. Comey on Twitter, saying he had given Hillary Clinton a “free pass for many deeds.”

The accusations and criticisms from Trump reflect a sitting president who is eroding the norms of propriety by using his perch to attack political rivals, including Comey, who is currently investigating Russia interference in the U.S. elections in an effort to help elect Trump.

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The timing of his attack seemed somewhat self-defeating.

The House is preparing to vote on a Republican plan to replace Obama's signature health-care bill. But instead of savoring what could be a short-term political win, Trump instead returned to the Russia investigation, which has proved a liability for his White House since almost the first day he took office.

Trump also criticized the media for very much the same impulses that have defined his presidency: bombast and attention-seeking. “The Fake News media is officially out of control,” he wrote on Twitter. “They will do or say anything in order to get attention — never been a time like this.”