Rep. Tom Garrett, R-Va., said Monday that the investigation into connections between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia resembles the "birther" conspiracy, which was promoted by Trump himself.
"Imagine that there was a partly political funded investigation into President Obama's place of birth," Garrett, who sits on the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs panels, said in an interview on CNN. "This Russia investigation is essentially birtherism."
Trump led the birther movement, which claimed that former President Barack Obama was born outside the U.S. and had a falsified birth certificate to claim otherwise. Obama eventually released his long-form birth certificate, and Trump eventually said he believed that the former president was born in Hawaii, although it was reported last November that Trump has privately continued to express doubt, according to The New York Times.
Anchor Brianna Keilar asked the congressman to clarify his remark, asking, "Do you think Russia didn't meddle? Is that why you mean it's birtherism?"
Garrett replied, "Russia's meddled in every since election since 1919, we know that."
"Imagine if political money, $9 million from the Clinton campaign and the DNC to Fusion GPS, were levied to do an investigation against President Obama as to his origin of birth," he added. "That would be ridiculous and un-American, and this is too."
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