Bipartisan criticism rains on Trump for coddling of Putin

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump faced swift and sweeping condemnation on Monday after he sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin during an appearance in Helsinki, with officials calling it "bizarre," "shameful" and "disgraceful"-- and that's just from the Republicans.

Lawmakers in both major parties and former intelligence officials rebuked Trump's suggestion that he believes Putin's denial of interfering in the 2016 elections.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called it "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory," and said that "no prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant."

"The damage inflicted by President Trump's naivete, egotism, false equivalence and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate," McCain said in a statement. "But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake."

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., called it "bizarre." Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., called it "shameful." And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tweeted that it was a "bad day for the US."

"This was a very good day for President Putin," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He said Trump's refusal to condemn Russian interference in the 2016 election makes the U.S. "look like a pushover."

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, said he saw Russian intelligence manipulate many people in his earlier career as a CIA officer. But, he tweeted, "I never would have thought that the US President would become one of the ones getting played by old KGB hands."

House Speaker Paul Ryan weighed in to say there's "no question" that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and "no moral equivalence" between the U.S. and Russia.

"The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally," Ryan, R-Wis., said in a statement. Russia, he said, "remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., repeated his earlier assessment that the Russians are "not our friends." He said he has "complete confidence in our intelligence community and the findings."

Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina said any statement by Putin that contradicts the findings that he ordered interference into the election "is a lie and should be recognized as one by the president." Burr's committee conducted an investigation and supported U.S. intelligence agencies' finding that Putin ordered a campaign to interfere in the 2016 election.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said in a statement it is "even more important that the bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigation and the Mueller investigation continue until they are complete," referring to special counsel Robert Mueller.

Much of the Republican rebuke came from lawmakers who have been willing to openly criticize the president, but several Republicans who don't typically buck the president raised concerns over Monday's performance.

Newt Gingrich called it "the most serious mistake" of Trump's presidency -- and one that "must be corrected -- immediately."

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who has been waging a battle with the Justice Department over access to documents on the Russia probe, said Moscow has been trying to undermine U.S. democracy and "sow the seeds of discord."

Gowdy said in a statement he's confident top Trump administration officials "will be able to communicate to the president it is possible to conclude Russia interfered with our election in 2016 without delegitimizing his electoral success."

Democrats pleaded with their GOP colleagues who have majority control of Congress to rein in the president and become a stronger legislative check on the executive branch.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, said that never in the history of the country has an American president supported an adversary the way Trump sided with Putin. He challenged Republicans to move beyond words and confront the president directly by increasing sanctions on Russia and requesting testimony about the summit from Trump administration officials, among other things.

"We need our Republican colleagues to stand up for the good of this country," he said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Trump's weakness in front of Putin wasn't just "embarrassing" but also "proves that the Russians have something on the president, personally, financially or politically."

"This is a sad day for America, and for all Western democracies that Putin continues to target," she said.

One of the few defenses in Washington came from Vice President Mike Pence. "What the world saw, what the American people saw, is that President Donald Trump will always put the prosperity and security of America first," Pence said during an event at the Commerce Department.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who is one of the most pro-Russia members of the House, said on Bloomberg Television that the U.S. interferes in Russian elections "at a much higher rate" than it has interfered in U.S. elections and that both sides are wrong.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., questioned the timing of Friday's U.S. indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers for computer attacks meant to undermine the Democratic Party. The indictment, which stems from Mueller's probe, fleshes out U.S. intelligence agencies' longstanding conclusion that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential race.

But he went on to criticize Putin: "Putin is an evil man who has killed many people in his own country, there is no question at all that Russia is still an adverse entity to the United States."

Off Capitol Hill, former intelligence chiefs who served under President Barack Obama were scathing in their criticism. John Brennan, who served as CIA director, called Trump's comments "treasonous."

James Clapper, who was director of national intelligence under Obama, described Trump's comments as "very, very disturbing."

Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats responded to Trump by stating that the intelligence assessment of Russia's "ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy" has been clear and has been presented to Trump in an unvarnished and objective fashion.

Information for this article was contributed by Lisa Mascaro, Matthew Daly, Mary Clare Jalonick, Alan Fram and Kevin Freking of The Associated Press; by John Wagner and staff members of The Washington Post; and by Steven T. Dennis, Billy House, Laura Litvan and Erik Wasson of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 07/17/2018