Clinton campaign press secretary Robby Mook issued a late-night statement on the bombshell in the recent New York Times detailing Donald Trump's campaign chair Paul Manafort and his questionable dealings in Ukraine.
Mook notes that the report comes just before Trump is scheduled to give a major foreign policy address Monday on what his strategy will be if he is elected as president.
"We have learned of more troubling connections between Donald Trump's team and pro-Kremlin elements in Ukraine," Mook said in the statement. "Given the pro-Putin policy stances adopted by Donald Trump and the recent Russian government hacking and disclosure of Democratic Party records, Donald Trump has a responsibility to disclose campaign chair Paul Manafort's and all other campaign employees' and advisers' ties to Russian or pro-Kremlin entities, including whether any of Trump's employees or advisers are currently representing and or being paid by them."
Trump made news just two weeks ago when he told ABC News that Putin is "not going into Ukraine," seemingly unaware Putin already had annexed Crimea.
Trump also called on Russia to hack Clinton's server just prior to the Democratic National Convention. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you find the 33,000 emails that are missing,” he said. “I think you’ll be rewarded mightily by our press!”
He was later denounced by an ex-CIA official who questioned the Republican Party candidate's patriotism, called treasonous and faced backlash from his own party. Much like the recent "joke" about President Obama being the founder of ISIS, Trump later said that he was being "sarcastic" about the request. Like with the latest claim of "sarcasm," the press didn't understand Trump's "joke" then either.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (C-SPAN)
