Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer sounded fresh alarms Saturday over new reporting involving President Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russians in 2017.
Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, raised concerns in a statement issued in response to The Washington Post reporting Friday that Mr. Trump said during the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and then-Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that he was unconcerned Moscow had meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential race he won.
“If true, the reports that @realDonaldTrump may have told close associates of Putin that he didn’t mind Russian interference in the U.S. elections are extremely harmful to both our national security and the integrity of our elections,” Mr. Schumer said on Twitter.
“It’s one of the most disturbing things we’ve learned yet. The White House should immediately provide the Congressional intelligence committees with all the records of that meeting so we can get to the bottom of it,” Mr. Schumer tweeted.
Citing three former officials familiar with the matter, the Post reported Friday evening that Mr. Trump said during the meeting that he was unconcerned about Russia’s role in the 2016 election because the U.S. acts similarly in other countries, alarming some White House officials and prompting them to restrict access to his remarks.
The White House did not comment for the Post’s report, and the administration did not immediately return a message seeking reaction to Mr. Schumer’s remark.
Federal law enforcement and intelligence officials concluded that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 race. Several current and former members of Mr. Trump’s administration have subsequently asserted that Moscow will meddle in next year’s race.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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