Paul Ryan warns Trump ‘nobody is above the law’ and rejects spying allegation

The outgoing Republican House leader breaks with president pair of high-profile issues

Paul Ryan has publicly broken with Donald Trump, rejecting the president’s assertions that a spy was planted in his campaign and warning Mr Trump against pardoning himself.

“Nobody is above the law”, Mr Ryan told reporters, after saying the president should not exercise his power to pardon himself.

After reports revealed a memorandum from Mr Trump’s lawyers asserting sweeping executive powers, including a president’s ability to halt investigations, Mr Trump weighed in on Twitter to emphasise his authority and to again deny any wrongdoing as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates whether the president obstructed a probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?” Mr Trump wrote earlier this week.

Mr Ryan, the outgoing Republican speaker of the House, also repudiated Mr Trump’s allegations that federal investigators looking into Russian efforts to swing the 2016 election planted a “spy” in his campaign.

While it has been revealed that the FBI drew on an informant who contacted members of the Trump campaign, there is no evidence that a person was embedded in the campaign or that the use of an informant violated rules barring politically motivated enquiries.

Rep Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican who heads the House Oversight Committee, said after being briefed by FBI and Justice Department officials last week that he had seen no evidence of a “spy” being used and backed the federal investigation by saying “the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do”.

“I think Chairman Gowdy’s initial assessment is accurate”, Mr Ryan said. “I have seen no evidence to the contrary of the initial assessment Chairman Gowdy has made”.

Multiple former Trump campaign officials have already been indicted as a result of Mr Mueller’s probe. Investigators are exploring whether Mr Trump may have obstructed justice in firing former FBI official James Comey, who had led the investigation, or in dictating a misleading statement about a meeting between campaign officials and a Russian emissary.

While Mr Trump has expressed a willingness to sit for an interview and clear his name, his lawyer have cautioned against it. Attorney Rudy Giuliani said over the weekend the legal team would contest a subpoena seeking to compel Mr Trump to testify. Mr Giuliani also said the potential political consequences made it unlikely Mr Trump would pardon himself.

“The president of the United States pardoning himself would just be unthinkable”, Mr Giuliani said, “and it would lead to probably an immediate impeachment.”