Justice Department officials say White House comments that Trump is not under investigation were not cleared with them, and then refuse to deny there is an investigation.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

With questions still swirling over President Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that he was wiretapped on orders of President Barack Obama, the Justice Department on Thursday declined to confirm statements a day earlier from the White House that Mr. Trump was not the target of a counterintelligence investigation. 

Officials also said the White House had not relied on any information from the Justice Department in offering a statement denying the existence of an investigation. 

The White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, told reporters on Wednesday that “there is no reason to believe there is any type of investigation with respect to the Department of Justice” or “ that the president is the target of any investigation whatsoever.”

But a Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that there was no indication that anyone at the Justice Department had given the White House that assurance. 

Asked whether Mr. Trump was in fact the target of an investigation, the official offered a “no comment.”

Okay so the Justice Department officials make a point of saying that the White House's denial of an investigation was not cleared through them, and then when asked if there is indeed an investigation they refuse to comment.

Gee I can't imagine what we should surmise from that.

In another totally unrelated story FBI Director James Comey had a private meeting with several lawmakers in Washington this afternoon:

FBI Director James Comey spent Thursday afternoon on Capitol Hill meeting with the eight lawmakers who have access to the most highly classified information, sources told CNN. 

Comey was scheduled to meet with the House members of the so-called Gang of Eight at 5 p.m., and he met earlier in the afternoon with the senators in the group -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Intelligence committee, Republican Sen. Richard Burr and Democrat Mark Warner respectively. 

The House members include House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and House Intelligence Ranking Member Adam Schiff. 

Comey's visit comes after Schiff accused the FBI director of stonewalling House members in a briefing last week and both Schiff and Nunes aired their concerns that Comey had been withholding information from the group through last year.

And in yet another TOTALLY unrelated story we learn this:

The Senate Intelligence Committee has been given sweeping powers, unseen since the Watergate era, to investigate Russian meddling in the US election.

Have to imagine that Trump is really starting to feel that noose tightening up about now.