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Rand Paul Defends Trump's Russia Comments Against Combative Wolf Blitzer

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., defended President Donald Trump against aggressive questioning by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer regarding the U.S. leader’s joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday.

“This is truly the Trump derangement syndrome that motivates all of this!” Paul said of the ongoing efforts by Democrats, the establishment media, and some in the Republican Party to target Trump.

On his program Monday night, Blitzer accused Trump of blaming the United States for the current bad relations with Russia and declining to back the American intelligence community and Department of Justice during the joint media event.

When asked if he would denounce Putin, Trump said, “I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today and what he did is an incredible offer.”

Several lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have criticized Trump for accepting Putin’s denial of Russian interference in the 2016 election despite the intelligence community and special counsel Robert Mueller’s assessment that Russia did interfere.

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Paul told Blitzer that Trump’s comments need to be put in the context of the ongoing Russia investigation.

“All of this is a sideways way to try to delegitimize Trump and say he really didn’t win the election when the election was really about Hillary Clinton being unfit for office,” he said.

The Kentucky senator noted the role former Obama administration CIA director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper played in launching the Russian investigation, which targeted the Trump campaign during the 2016 race.

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“These are the people that I am concerned used their bias against President Trump,” Paul said. “Absolutely, I’m with the president on this. The intelligence community was full of biased people including Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and dozens of others.”

On Tuesday, Paul was pressed by “CBS This Morning” host John Dickerson about Trump’s failure to make the moral case against Putin during the news conference.

“I don’t think you’re being fair to the president,” the lawmaker said. “So when President Reagan met with Gorbachev, do you think he listed the litany of Soviet abuses from Stalin on in a one-to-one meeting?”

Dickerson followed up noting that Reagan used strong rhetoric toward the Soviet Union such as calling it the “evil empire.”

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“Reagan didn’t call it an evil empire in a press conference with Gorbachev,” Paul replied.

The senator went on to argue that Trump’s reluctance to criticize Russia’s alleged interference has to do with the Mueller investigation.

“The president has undergone an onslaught of a year, year-and-a-half of a partisan investigation accusing him of somehow colluding with the Russians,” Paul stated. “So, I think he’s sensitive to that.”

Paul added that there is a legitimate and partisan aspect to the investigation. As on Blitzer’s program, he highlighted Brennan and Clapper’s roles in launching the Russia probe “at the behest of the Clinton campaign” using information contained in the so-called dossier paid for by Trump’s rival and the Democratic National Committee.

“It’s funny we keep talking about Trump and Russia when in fact the only person known to pay Russian agents was Hillary Clinton,” he said.

Trump thanked Paul for coming to his defense in a Tuesday morning tweet.

In a separate tweet, the president also dinged the “fake news” for its coverage of the summit and his European trip in general.

“While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way – the Fake News is going Crazy!”

In clarifying remarks regarding Russian interference from the White House on Tuesday Trump said, “I have full faith and support for America’s great intelligence agencies, always have.”

He added, “Russia’s actions had no impact on the outcome of the election. Let me be clear. I accept our interest community conclusion that meddling took place. There was no collusion at all.”

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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