Trump defends business, slams media and White House in series of tweets

Trump defends business, slams media and White House in series of tweets
By Rebecca Savransky - 12-15-16 08:58 AM EST

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday morning took to Twitter to attack media scrutiny of his businesses and reports of Russia's interference in the election.

"The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex - when actually it isn't!" Trump tweeted.

Moments later, he raised questions about Russia's interference in the presidential race, specifically targeting the White House's concerns.

"If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?" he tweeted, before deleting the tweet and reposting it with "wait" spelled correctly shortly after.

The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex - when actually it isn't!

 - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016 

If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016

Critics have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest that could arise during Trump's time in the White House. Trump postponed a news conference planned for this week on how he plans to handle his businesses once he takes office.

Trump announced earlier this month his two adult sons, Eric and Donald Jr., would take over his business interests when he assumes office.

He tweeted this week that he would leave his global empire so he could focus full-time on the presidency and added that "no new deals" would be done during his time in office.

Trump also has repeatedly attacked the notion that Russia interfered to help him in the presidential election, denying the Kremlin had any involvement in hacking Democratic groups.

A secret CIA assessment reportedly concluded Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help Trump win the White House - a report Trump and his aides have since blasted as "ridiculous."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest earlier this week suggested Trump was aware before Election Day that Russia was behind a series of hacks on Democrats and Democratic Party organs during the campaign.

"There's ample evidence that was known long before the election and in most cases long before October about the Trump campaign and Russia - everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent," Earnest said during a White House press briefing.

"It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent's campaign."

Trump aide Kellyanne Conway on Thursday dismissed Earnest's comments, calling them "remarkable" and "breathtaking."

"I guess he's auditioning to be a political pundit," she said Thursday on "Fox & Friends."

Before the election, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the White House raised concerns about Russia's interference in the presidential race.

Back in July, Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook, said it was "troubling" that experts were saying the hacks into the Democratic National Committee were "done by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump."

In October, the nation's top intelligence agencies publicly accused Russia of attempting to disrupt the U.S. election through alleged hacks of the Democratic National Committee and the private email of Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta.

The president-elect has been blaming ongoing reports about the issue on Democrats who he says are still bitter about their loss in November.

This report was updated at 9:27 a.m.