CNN’s John Avlon: Trump’s Foreign Intel Comment Is Founding Fathers’ ‘Worst Nightmare’

John Avlon is more than just an everyday contributor to CNN’s New Day, he is also an accomplished author of numerous books, one of which he cited Thursday morning in terms of dire warnings many Founding Fathers shared about foreign influence in the U.S. government.

The comments came in the context of President Donald Trump’s controversial telling George Stephanopoulos that he hypothetically would listen to foreign sources of opposition research, despite his own FBI Director Christopher Wray said that that’s … well, a big no-no.

After host John Berman asked about the “invitation the president just issued from the Oval Office to foreign governments to give him dirt on his opponents,” Avlon cited passages from his book Washington’s Farewell.

Avlon noted “in Washington’s farewell address he warned ‘history and experience teach us that foreign influence is the foe of Republican government.'” He then added how Alexander Hamilton talked in Federalist Paper #68 about the “danger of foreign influence elevating someone to the executive.” “Also, Adams and Jefferson wrote about it. This is basic.”

“What Donald Trump did was the Founding Fathers’ worst nightmare,” Avlon concluded.

Watch above via CNN.

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