Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, who has not ruled out running against Donald Trump for the White House, on Sunday criticized as a "diversion tactic" the president's unsubstantiated allegation last week of an FBI "spy" being planted in his election campaign.
Flake's comments, on NBC's "Meet the Press," put him again at the forefront of very few Republican lawmakers willing to openly challenge Trump over his attacks on law enforcement officials who are investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion by the Trump campaign.
The investigation was begun by the FBI in July 2016, but handed over by the Justice Department to special counsel Robert Mueller in May 2017 after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.