As Twitchy reported Wednesday night, after President Trump told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that sure, he’d hear out a foreign figure who claimed to have dirt on his 2020 rival, CNN’s Jake Tapper wondered if any members of Congress would admit to doing the same. They wouldn’t admit it, but Twitter provided quite a few examples, like the time Rep. Adam Schiff’s office emailed two Russian comedians who prank called him and said they had nude photos of Trump.
EXCLUSIVE: Russians pranked Adam Schiff by telling Democrat that Putin has NAKED blackmail pictures of Trump https://t.co/INN6x2pWGF
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) February 6, 2018
Schiff’s office said they suspected it was a prank, but one of the comedians said an aide to Schiff followed up via email after the call and asked for the materials to be sent to the Ukrainian embassy so that one of Schiff’s staffers could pick them up.
On Thursday, Tapper talked about a proposed law that would require candidates to disclose to the FBI any contact with foreign agents, and the senator proposing that bill was Sen. Mark Warner.
“What Russia did is effective and cheap—and they will be back in 2020.” @SenatorWarner joins @JakeTapper to discuss his proposed bill, which would require candidates to notify the FBI if contacted by a foreign agent.https://t.co/0y7U6NCMdS pic.twitter.com/VR5Q0NChEK
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) June 13, 2019
Um, this Mark Warner?
Senator, just curious, did you report your contact with the Russians, and attempted coup, to the Trump admin in back in 2017?
Could we have prosecuted and put you in prison under your proposed law? https://t.co/rGNDlfSlw4
— Craig Smith (@CraigSmith510) June 13, 2019
As Fox News reported in February 2018:
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has been leading a congressional investigation into President Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, had extensive contact last year with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch who was offering Warner access to former British spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, according to text messages obtained exclusively by Fox News.
“We have so much to discuss u need to be careful but we can help our country,” Warner texted the lobbyist, Adam Waldman, on March 22, 2017.
“I’m in,” Waldman, whose firm has ties to Hillary Clinton, texted back to Warner.
Waldman is best known for signing a $40,000 monthly retainer in 2009 and 2010 to lobby the U.S. government on behalf of controversial Russian billionaire Oleg V. Deripaska. Deripraska had his visa revoked by the State Department in 2006 because of charges, which he has denied, that he has organized crime ties.
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That darned dossier again, bought and paid for by the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign.
As long as you have democrats paying them for bullshit dossiers I’m sure Russia will be glad to help !
— Fisherman25 (@Bullred25) June 13, 2019
You’re so focused on all things Trump but conveniently never seem to mention what Clinton and Schiff have done. Why is that?
— Todd Slagle (@tas0417) June 13, 2019
Oh, joy. Yet another law to be applied to Republicans while Democrats flout it with impunity.
— Gepid (@LazyGepid) June 13, 2019
Russias influence was minimal at best. They spent under a million dollars on facebook ads that didn't influence anyone. This is all made by the Democrats who are apparently still peddling this BS. It was the DNC, Hillary and Obama all along
— Matt (@mattglenn29) June 13, 2019
What the Democrats did in 2020 was effective. They will be back.
— Barb B Q @barbbq (@BarbBQbarbbq1) June 13, 2019
The Democrats will be hiring a British spy who'll work with the Russian government to create a Dossier on Trump during the 2020 election and tell the FBI to investigate that Dossier during the 2020 election? That'll happen again CNN?
— The Right Defense (@TheRightDefense) June 13, 2019
Ukraine has dirt on @JoeBiden and his son. We need to know.
— Old Army MP (@DIPGparent) June 13, 2019
Tapper still seems blown away by Trump’s admission.
"We're now in unchartered territory. Maybe we've been here for a while, but it's never been so clear before."
Jake Tapper, on President Trump saying he'd be willing to listen to dirt on political rivals as delivered by foreign entities.https://t.co/NgTeIvPFsF pic.twitter.com/leE5k3s0DN
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) June 13, 2019
Your wading in unchartered territories began in 2016 when Russian opposition research funded by the Democrats found it's way into the CIA and FBI and was subsequently used as the basis for a Trump-Russia counterintelligence and criminal investigation that came up empty.
— Shavajai-ji (@FQShav) June 13, 2019
Are you aware that some of your viewers have heard of the Steele Dossier? Are you also aware that @CNN showed no such outrage when @HillaryClinton used foreign sources to spy on Trump campaign officials?
— NepaNeocon (@nepaneocon) June 13, 2019
Jake,
This isn’t uncharted territory. Hillary financed a dossier that used information from several Russian govt officials; not to mention her collusion with the Ukrainian govt to try and win the election.
You’ve just chosen not to report it.
Why is that?— Ryan Wolfe (@RyanRwolfe13) June 13, 2019
Pssst @jaketapper Hillary Clinton .. Ukraine government ?♂️?♂️?♂️
— joshua miller (@joshuamiller29) June 13, 2019
Apart from this 2017 report, nearly no media coverage of Ukraine's meddling to help Clinton, including oppo provided to Clinton campaign affiliates. https://t.co/hlZFWbNL3X
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) June 13, 2019
The lead…in worst {fake} news rating. here is one reason why…..playing viewers for suckers and fools., which granted…most people still watching CNN are, but still…https://t.co/xOfB4XzryY
— AccountabilityMatters (@TruNewsUSA) June 13, 2019
Stuff their remaining watchers will never see on CNNhttps://t.co/f81dqOJLZK
— AccountabilityMatters (@TruNewsUSA) June 13, 2019
We are not in uncharted territory Jake. What a drama! We know what @POTUS meant. We like his plain talk. And he never said he’d cover for anything. He absolutely never would. He heard a stupid question from a Trump hating fool. So many news people sound that way around #Trump
— Susan Smith (@susanjsmith2) June 13, 2019
Stay tuned:
Over/under on the president’s next nasty and personal attacks against Shep and the Judge for good question and law-enforcement-appropriate response?
I say tomorrow 3 pm ET https://t.co/ihW3mvtjL0
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 13, 2019
Related:
‘Bingo’! Mollie Hemingway interrupts media’s Trump hypotheticals with self-awareness check about what ‘*actually* happened’ https://t.co/2GIScDzdhw
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 13, 2019
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