Schlapp: CPAC Discussions Will Include Talk About Russia Accusations

Discussion about the continued accusations that President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russians during the 2016 presidential race will be front and center among the discussions at this weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp said Thursday.

"Our attendees do want to talk about Russia," CPAC organizer Schlapp told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.  

"They want to talk about Russia being a threat to the United States, and they do want to talk about this investigation about supposed collusion, because they think after a year it's time for the special counsel's team to show the American people what they found. It seems like from our perspective, they got a whole lot of nothing to show."

The annual conference, being held through Saturday, will on Thursday feature a wide slate of speakers, including Vice President Mike Pence, French conservative politician Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, Trump attorney Don McGahn, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

Schlapp also criticized the Obama administration and the news that ex-President Barack Obama knew about Russian meddling in the election process, and Trump's criticism of his predecessor's actions.

"When you have a president of the United States use the intelligence structures and organizations of the United States to spy on political opponents, we are in a very dangerous position," said Schlapp.

"The person who allowed that to happen was President Obama and his senior team. I would like to know what he knew and when he knew it to borrow a phrase from another presidential scandal."

Further, he complained, "Obama did not keep us safe."

"He loves to raise out charges against Donald Trump and supposed nefarious collusion, which there is no evidence of," said Schlapp. "But he was the one that allowed it to happen as you say. I think someone ought to bring the president in and start to scrutinize what his policies were because they did not keep us safe."

Meanwhile, Schlapp praised Trump's decision to meet at the White House on Wednesday to allow them to voice their concerns on school safety and gun control.

"I thought it was an incredibly important moment for our country and for his presidency," said Schlapp. "It's very important that the president be a consoler-in-chief to reach out to people when they are hurting.

"I think people are very much hurting in this community, the families. The president has a great capacity to try to listen and think about ways to solve problems. And I think he demonstrated that yesterday. I think it was important for the American people."

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