Donald Trump

Trump Criticizes FBI Over Handling of Shooting Suspect Tip

President Trump and other Republicans have heavily criticized the FBI in the past

President Donald Trump lashed out at the FBI Saturday night, saying the agency "missed all of the many signals" sent by the suspect in the Florida school shooting and arguing they are "spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign."

Trump said on Twitter: "This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!"

The FBI received a tip last month that the suspect in the Florida school shooting had a "desire to kill" and access to guns and could be plotting an attack. But the agency said Friday that agents failed to investigate.

A survivor of the Florida shooting joined Trump's conversation on Sunday, replying to his tweet with an impassioned plea.

"It’s very sad that thousands of voices won’t be heard bc this egocentric maniac is too caught up on himself instead of the change for the people," wrote Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School junior Giuliana Matamoros. "What’s not acceptable is you continuously trying to put the blame on someone else other than you. We want action not your words."

The FBI's acknowledgment that it mishandled the tip prompted a sharp rebuke from its boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and a call from Florida's Republican Gov. Rick Scott, a Trump ally, for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign.

Trump and other Republicans have heavily criticized the FBI. They are still dissatisfied with its decision not to charge Hillary Clinton with crimes related to her use of a private email server, and they see signs of bias in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of possible Trump campaign ties to Russia.

Matamoros is one of many students who has reacted to Trump's FBI tweet. Speaking to NBC News, she called Trump a "coward."

"My initial reaction was that, how in the world does he find a way to make the death of my 17 peers something about him?" she said. "How does a president lack such compassion fo his people? He can never take blame. He is a coward who can't take responsibility. We don't need his words, we need his actions."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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