Trump Tells NBC to Stop Covering 'Phony' Russia Story

President Trump had Russia and NBC on his mind Saturday. "When will Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd and @NBCNews start talking about the Obama SURVEILLANCE SCANDAL and stop with the Fake Trump/Russia story," he tweeted. In a follow-up tweet, he slammed the 'Fake News Media for "pushing the phony Russia story." The tweets followed Todd's Friday interview with former Obama press secretary Josh Earnest about Russia developments. Todd also appeared on NBC Nightly News Friday, where he said Trump is refusing to accept the fact there will be an investigation of alleged Russian interference in the election, Politico reports. In other developments:

• On NBC, Todd described the White House's escalating problems as "self-inflicted." "The source of all of the current problems for this West Wing right now, for this presidency right now, all stems from that tweet where the president accused President Obama of wiretapping him," he said.

• The Washington Post reports that Trump and aides including Sean Spicer spent Friday on the defensive over Russia reports. "What he did, what he saw, who he met with was 100% proper," Spicer said of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes' controversial visit to the White House to view classified reports.
• Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House committee, described former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn's offer to testify in return for immunity as "grave and momentous," the BBC reports. He said the committee wanted to hear Flynn's evidence, but it is too early to consider an immunity request from any witness.
• Schiff visited the White House later Friday to view the same materials Nunes viewed, and said afterward that he didn't see anything to justify the failure to share them with the rest of the House committee the New York Times reports.
• The Guardian reports that Spicer deflected Russia questions Friday with allegations against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He claimed there was new evidence that the Obama administration had conducted "politically motivated" surveillance of the Trump campaign, and accused Clinton of profiting from her time as secretary of state, using the "office to make concession after concession, selling off one fifth of our country’s uranium."
• CNN reports that after reporters asked him about Flynn, Trump walked out of an executive order signing ceremony at the White House Friday without having signed the orders. The White House says he signed the orders, which dealt with foreign trade, in private later on.
• Todd responded to Trump's "Sleepy Eyes" dig later Saturday, the Hill reports. "For those wondering, I slept well even tho I stayed up late watching the #msstateupset of UConn," he tweeted. "Don't feel sleepy at all though."

(More Russia stories.)