Speaking to Chuck Todd on NBC’s « Meet The Press, » Pelosi said that she « wants to know what the Russians have on Donald Trump, » emphasizing that « we want to see his tax returns so we can have truth in the relationship between [Russian President Vladimir Putin], whom he admires, and Donald Trump. »
Pelosi’s comments came after Trump played down Putin’s violations of human rights on Saturday when he told Fox News , after Bill O’Reilly pressed him about Putin’s history of violence, that « There are a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country’s so innocent. »
That interview was just the latest incident in which Trump appears has been accused of going out of his way to defend Putin, and comes after CNN reported earlier this month that classified documents presented to President Barack Obama and Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Trump, and that the FBI is investigating those allegations.
House and Senate panels are also probing whether the Russian government tried to influence the American presidential election, including possible contacts between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, Politico reported .
In the NBC interview, Pelosi also said, when asked if Democrats in Congress would be willing to work with the administration to pass legislation that would allow new vetting and some temporary suspension of refugees, that « We take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and the American people and, as long as we’re honoring the Constitution, we’re willing to work. Now, as President Obama did in 2011, we always have to subject our vetting to scrutiny to see if it’s working. But that doesn’t mean we institute an unconstitutional, immoral ban on Muslims coming into the country. «
