President Donald Trump spoke to the press after he landed in Charleston West Virginia Tuesday.
"Paul Manafort's a good man. He was with Ronald Reagan. He was with a lot of very different people over the years," Trump said. "I feel very sad about that. I still feel, you know, it is a very sad thing that happened."
Trump then turned to repeat his talking point that there was no Russian collusion.
"This has nothing to do with Russia and collusion," he said. "This started as Russian collusion. This has absolutely nothing to do. This is a witch hunt and a disgrace. This has nothing to do what they started locking out looking for Russians involved in our campaign. There were nothing."
He then returned to praise Manafort, saying he feels bad. "He worked for Bob Dole. He worked for Ronald Reagan. He worked for many, many people. And this is way it ends up."
He then blasted the efforts by the special counsel, which he characterized as a witch hunt.
"It was not the original mission. Believe me. It was something very much different. So, nothing to do with Russia and collusion. We continue the witch hunt. Thank you very much," he said.
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