Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., warned against labeling Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal after Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., used the term Wednesday.
Rohrabacher, during an interview with Breitbart News Radio said, "We have these people claiming that Mr. Putin is war criminal, alright."
He was then asked if he was referring to Rubio, who asked Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson if he thought Putin was a war criminal during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Tillerson responded that he "would not use that term," according to the Miami Herald.
"He's not the only one doing this," Rohrabacher said. "But it seems to me like what we've got are warmongers claiming other people are war criminals. This is the wrong kind of tone. That type of rhetoric is leading us to a point where we will be in conflict and the Russians will think that we are out to get them.
"This is the wrong kind of tone. That type of rhetoric is leading us to a point where we will be in conflict and the Russians will think that we are out to get them."
The senator then said Tillerson's "inability" to label Russia's actions in Syria as war crimes "discouraging."
The congressman also criticized complaints of Russian hacking during the presidential election, saying such remarks are hypocritical.
"Look this idea that, [John] McCain I believe said, it's an act of war that they hacked into our system. We hacked into their system all the time," Rohrabacher said. "Not just their system, we're recording telephone conversations of foreign leaders."
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