Democrats quickly seized on Donald Trump Jr.’s emails on Russia Tuesday as proof that the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow, and called for a new round of investigations.
Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, top Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said the younger Trump “has made clear that his father’s campaign was willing to work with an adversary of the United States in order to defeat Hillary Clinton. He also revealed that the Trump administration’s numerous and vehement denials of contact between the campaign and Russia weren’t truthful.”
“The American people need to know exactly what was discussed in this meeting and in any other contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia, who was involved in those exchanges, whether then-candidate Trump was involved, and what’s happened since the campaign to cover up these ties,” said Mr. Engel, who called for Congress to create an independent commission to investigate.
The younger Trump released emails Tuesday showing that he agreed to meet with a Russian lawyer based on representations that she had damaging information on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government. He said nothing came of the meeting and he did nothing wrong.
Democrats eagerly disagreed.
Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called it “a sad day for our country.”
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump Jr. releases email chain from meeting with Russian lawyer
“The email chain confirms that the president’s son was both aware of and supported the Russian government’s efforts to help the president get elected,” Mr. Cummings said. “Our country has a fundamental principle that a foreign adversary should not and cannot interfere with our sacred elections, period. The soul of our very democracy depends on it. I remind my colleagues from both parties — the Constitution does not give Congress the right to remain silent in the face of this threat. We must investigate. And we must act on our findings.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat, said the emails showed that “the highest levels of the Trump campaign walked, eyes open, into a meeting designed to advance the Russian government’s support for Donald Trump.”
“These emails show there is no longer a question of whether this campaign sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America’s democracy,” Mr. Wyden said. “The question is how far the coordination goes. It is now up to elected officials of both parties to stand up and do their duty: protect and defend the Constitution.”
The Democratic National Committee said the younger Trump was eager to work with a foreign power to help his father get elected.
“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump Jr. was told in explicit terms that the Russian government wanted to help his father win the election, and he knew the information was coming from a family with close ties to Vladimir Putin,” said DNC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson. “Instead of reporting this to the FBI, the president’s son said ’I love it’ and invited the Trump campaign’s most senior aides to participate.”
She added, “This investigation is far from over, but there is no longer any question that the Trump campaign welcomed the opportunity to collude with Russia in last year’s election.”
SEE ALSO: Adam Schiff: Donald Trump Jr. will be asked to appear before House Intelligence Committee
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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