Sen. Rob Portman said Sunday that President Trump is being “too defensive” on issues about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and that the various investigations should be allowed to play out.
“I mean, look, he won. And I think you would agree he won the election fair and square. He’s duly elected,” the Ohio Republican said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“And we ought to instead focus on the outrage that the Russians meddled in our elections, not just this last election. They did it long before Donald Trump. They’re going to do it long after Donald Trump, if we don’t do something about it. So we need to get to the bottom of it. And we need to go where the facts lead us,” he said.
He said he hoped Congress would encourage the Senate Intelligence Committee to complete its work investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
“The Department of Justice has now appointed this special prosecutor. Let’s let him get to the bottom of it,” Mr. Portman said.
In series of Sunday morning tweets, Mr. Trump accused Democrats of using the Russia “witch hunt” for “evil politics” and that Republicans “are now fighting back like never before.”
Special counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly filed the first charges related to his team’s Russia probe through a sealed grand jury indictment.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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