AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned President Donald Trump for expressing openness to accepting damaging information on political opponents from foreign actors.
- Pelosi said it is already illegal and "against any sense of decency."
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday President Donald Trump’s openness to accepting information about political opponents from foreign actors is illegal and "against any sense of decency."
Pelosi’s comments come as Democrats in Congress are ramping up investigations into the Trump administration and support is growing by the day for impeachment proceedings against the president.
Read more: The Mueller probe is over, but here are 6 active congressional investigations into Trump
"It’s against the law," Pelosi said when asked about whether she would tolerate a Democrat accepting information from a foreign actor. "It’s so against any sense of decency."
Pelosi also noted the instance in the 2000 presidential election when then-Vice President Al Gore’s campaign received stolen debate preparations from then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush’s campaign. Aides to the Gore campaign turned the politically lucrative information over to the FBI instead of using it.
"That’s what you do," Pelosi said. "There is a sense of decency about fruit from the forbidden tree — ill-gotten gain."
During an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos released on Wednesday, Trump suggested he would be open to damaging information on political opponents.
"I think maybe you do both," Trump said when asked if he would turn information over to the authorities or use it for political gain. "I think you might want to listen. I don’t — there’s nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country — Norway — ‘We have information on your opponent.’ Oh. I think I’d want to hear it."
"It’s not interference. They have information. I think I’d take it. If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI, if I thought there was something wrong," he added. "But when somebody comes up with oppo research, right, they come up with oppo research. ‘Oh, let’s call the FBI.’ The FBI doesn’t have enough agents to take care of it. When you go and talk, honestly, to congressmen, they all do it. They always have, and that’s the way it is. It’s called oppo research."
See Also:
- House Oversight Committee holds Attorney General Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accuses Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats of ‘sitting on their hands’ on impeaching Trump
- The House just voted to hold Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn in civil contempt
Source: Business Insider – jperticone@businessinsider.com (Joe Perticone)