Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to release dirt on President Joe Biden’s family as the U.S. and its NATO allies try to halt the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Trump said in an interview with right-wing host John Solomon that Putin “should release” dirt on Hunter Biden since the Russian autocrat is “not exactly a fan of our country.”
Trump’s remarks Tuesday underscore his relentless efforts to use foreign and sometimes adversarial powers to help him politically. Trump famously asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President, to join him. do him a “favor”In exchange for U.S. military assistance that Congress had already approved, Biden launched a dubious investigation of Hunter and Biden. That phone call, which Trump described as “perfect,” led to his first impeachment. Russian hackers targeted Hillary Clinton, Democratic nominee, during the 2016 campaign days after Trump’s “Russia, if you’re listening” remark, asking the Kremlin to find Clinton’s “missing” emails. Trump’s eldest son and top campaign officials later met with a Russian agentClinton had been promised dirt
Trump cited a number of sources during his Solomon interview. partisan investigation led by Senate Republicans into Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy firm. Although there was no evidence of wrongdoing, the probe did find some evidence. GOP reportAn unrelated allegation was made that Rosemont Seneca Thornton (which was allegedly linked with Hunter Biden) received $3.5million from the wife of the late Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Hunter Biden’s attorney, who co-founded Rosemont Seneca Advisors, denied any ownership in Rosemont Seneca Thornton. This was a separate company. Joe Biden during a 2020 debate said the allegation was “simply not true.”
Trump claimed in his interview that the payment was not only made to Hunter Biden, but also to Joe Biden.
Luzhkov’s wife “gave him $3.5 million, so now I would think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it,” Trump said. “I think we should know that answer. Now, you won’t get the answer from Ukraine… I think Putin now would be willing to probably give that answer, I’m sure he knows.”
Extended clip is worth watching: “As long as Putin is not exactly a fan of our country… I would think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it… you won’t get the answer from Ukraine… I think Putin now would be willing to probably give that answer.” pic.twitter.com/JFGcBk4Kxd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 30, 2022
Trump, who previously called Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “genius” and “savvy,”Solomon, a former journalist from The Hill, received the comments. helped fuel Trump’s debunked narrative that Joe Biden had pressured Ukraine to terminate a prosecutor who was investigating his son’s firm. Solomon’s reporting largely relied on information he got from Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Trump, who was widely criticized over his foreign business ties to the US, did not mention that he was involved in them. sought to do businessLuzhkov in late 1990s. Trump reportedly also reportedly planned to give Putin a $50 millionAs Trump’s 2016 campaign began, he was looking to build a Trump Tower Moscow from his penthouse.
Hunter Biden said in 2020 that he was under a tax investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the probe is “gaining momentum” and prosecutors have sought grand jury testimony related to his dealings at Burisma. Trump faces many other investigations, including a Georgia criminal probe into his efforts to “find” enough votes to overturn his loss in the state, and two investigationsNew York: Examining his business practices.
Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor, suggested that Trump’s comments about Putin may have prompted new legal scrutiny.
“It is a federal crime to solicit election assistance from a foreign national,” he tweetedNoting that there is legal uncertainty over whether the law covers election dirt, he said. “At some point, DOJ needs to get a ruling in the courts… the only way to do that is to charge a case and then argue it up through the appellate courts. If nobody ever charges it, we’ll never use it and never know.”
Russian state television, which has stoked Hunter Biden conspiracy theories, perhaps in an attempt to troll American officials, suggested that Russia should push to overthrow Biden and help “our partner Trump” replace him, especially after Biden’s remark in a speech last week in Warsaw that Putin “cannot remain in power.”
“It is time for our people to call on the people of the United States to change the regime in the U.S. urgently and to again help our partner Trump become president,” one state TV host said in a clip flagged by the Daily Beast’s Julia Davis.
In the meantime, Russian state TV:
Host Evgeny Popov says it’s time for the Russian people to call on Americans to change “the regime in the U.S.” before its term expires “and to again help our partner Trump to become President.”https://t.co/orPMoKoxwG pic.twitter.com/sPVDhVWm6Q
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) March 29, 2022
Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, one of the impeachment whistleblowers who reported Trump’s infamous phone call with Zelenskyy, called Trump a “traitor” in response to his latest comments and said his security clearance should be revoked.
“He openly conspires with the enemy, when the U.S. is attempting to steer clear of a war with Russia,” Vindman tweeted.
“Russia calls for its ‘partner Trump’ to be installed as President. Trump calls for Russia to help him politically,” wrote Daniel Goldman, who served as Democratic counsel during both of Trump’s impeachments. “All this while Russia commits war crimes through a brutal, unprovoked invasion of another democratic nation. This is the leader of the Republican Party.”
