Sen. Chris Coons said Monday he's been "puzzled and concerned" about President Donald Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past few years, but it's too soon to make conclusions based on a weekend story concerning their meetings.
"I think that's exactly why we have the investigation being led by Robert Mueller, to have professional investigators to reach those conclusions," the Delaware Democrat told CNN's "New Day." "I am concerned about this report about the treatment of the notes (but) I don't think it's conclusive. It has to be put in context."
However, he said he does think that the report is "one more piece of evidence" that the relationship between Trump and Russia in general, and Putin in particular, "deserves very close scrutiny."
Trump has had an "unprecedented closeness" with Putin over the past two years, Coons also said, including making public proclamations of admiration at a time when the national intelligence community determined Russia had interfered in U.S. elections.
"In the summer of 2017, the Senate, by a vote of 98-2, passed a comprehensive sanctions package to compel President Trump to take action against Russia, a package that he resisted, criticized, threatened to veto, but ultimately signed only when the vote was so overwhelming in the Senate," said Coons.
Coons confirmed that he will push for the House to try to speak with the interpreter who was in Trump's meetings with Putin.
"The Judiciary Committee for a while had a functioning investigation into obstruction of justice," said Coons. "The Republican majority wouldn't support our asking a series of I think relevant questions that the House Judiciary Committee will now take up."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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