GOP Congressman: ‘I Cannot’ Rule Out That Trump Engaged in Russian Criminal Conspiracy
Remarkable moment. GOP Rep. Leonard Lance tells @chrislhayes he cannot rule out that the Trump team engaged in a criminal conspiracy. pic.twitter.com/zBli1mOYXH
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 15, 2017
Well, this was a pretty incredible moment.
During an appearance on last night’s broadcast of MSNBC’s All In, Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) could not tell host Chris Hayes that he was confident that President Donald Trump wasn’t involved in Russia’s attempt to influence last year’s election.
With the revelation that eight people attended the meeting Donald Trump Jr. arranged with a Russian lawyer to gather dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government, Hayes pressed the Republican congressman on the issue of collusion.
“Can you definitively say — can you look into my eyes, the camera, your constituents — ‘I am 100% sure the president and his campaign did not engage with a criminal conspiracy with a foreign intelligence apparatus?'” Hayes asked.
“No, I cannot,” Lance replied. “And that’s why I want to get to the bottom of it.”
Hayes pointed out to the New Jersey lawmaker how “remarkable” that statement was and asked him once again the same question about ruling out a criminal conspiracy.
Lance went on to say Trump has said he did not know about the meeting and that wanted to take the president at his word, but seemed to hedge when Hayes said he couldn’t know for certain if Trump was being truthful.
Watch the clip above, via MSNBC.
[image via screengrab]
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