Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) -- once derided by a former opponent as "Putin’s favorite congressman" -- applauded the work of Russian hackers from the House floor.
Rohrbacher, chairman of the House subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia, reacted angrily Friday afternoon after Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Ruben Gallego (R-AZ) read aloud Donald Trump Jr.'s emails setting up a campaign meeting with a Russian attorney to discuss damaging information against Hillary Clinton.
The 70-year-old former Cold Warrior-turned-champion of Russian president Vladimir Putin said he was glad emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta were stolen and dumped online during the 2016 campaign.
"A lot of question about this whole Russia issue, whether Russia or somebody else hacked into the system and released those emails," Rohrbacher said. "I think it's important if truth was revealed. If someone is releasing false information, the public should be upset, but should not be upset if they are being given a chance to see more information that is accurate information on this issue."
Rohrbacher, who was identified along with Trump by House majority whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as taking payments from Putin, strongly defended the president's son for seeking information about Clinton -- even if it was obtained by Russian intelligence operations.
"I would hope the American people -- I trust the American people are smart enough to see a diversionary tactic using sinister words over and over again to describe something that is perfectly legal, and talking to anybody to get more information to help you make your decisions -- that's a good thing and not a bad thing," Rohrbacher said.
