Trump calls White House-Russia controversy 'fake news,' 'total scam'

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President Trump on Saturday called the ongoing controversy about his White House campaign linked to Russia a “total scam.”

Congress and the FBI are conducting investigations about whether a direct connection existed between campaign officials and Kremlin operatives, amid Trump’s insistence about no such contact.

“It is the same Fake News Media that said there is ‘no path to victory for Trump’ that is now pushing the phony Russia story,” Trump tweeted. “A total scam!”

The U.S. intelligence community has already concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 White House race, in which Trump upset Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. However, there has been no clear evidence that Russian operatives and Trump campaign officials colluded to defeat Clinton.

The most recent turn of events is that Michael Flynn, fired as Trump’s national security adviser for not disclosing talks with at least one Russian official, is purportedly seeking immunity in exchange for testifying in the Capitol Hill probes.

At the same time, California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence committee, one of the two congressional panels investigating the Russia connection, is facing criticism for going to Trump after a secret intelligence briefing before reporting his findings to his committee.

Following those revelations late last month, Nunes, who was a member of the presidential transition team, has resisted calls to step aside from his committee's investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.