Republican senators seemed resigned on Tuesday to the idea of a deeper investigation into President Trump’s son after Donald Trump Jr. released an email chain showing he was interested in a meeting to hear about information from Russia that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
A pair of GOP senators sounded the alarm bells over the email’s release and said more information is needed by investigators.
“They’re problematic on their face. He needs to talk about them,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. He added that while the email is an issue, he found it “odd” that the Trump campaign would be pointed in the direction of someone who didn’t know anything about Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said that the news was just the latest shoe to drop as part of the probe.
“Another shoe just dropped, as I told you weeks ago,” McCain said, referring to the shoes dropping from the “centipede” he mentioned months ago. “More shoes will drop.”
Soon after the emails were released, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said that the Russia probe should expand to become a “treason investigation.” No other senator, Democrat or Republican, was willing to equate the president’s eldest son’s actions to treason, but many believe Trump Jr., should come before Senate committees to discuss the meeting.
“The emails deserve a thorough investigation. I believe that the committee should interview Donald Trump Jr. as well as everyone else who was involved in attending the meeting or setting up the meeting,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “Until we have a fuller picture, it would be premature for me to reach any judgment.”
Other Republicans either wanted no part of discussing the topic and preferred to talk about healthcare or other issues facing the Senate at this time, or claimed to have not seen it.
“Oh, I don’t have an opinion on that,” Sen. David Perdue said when asked if Trump Jr., should have alerted the FBI about the email. Sen. Pat Toomey was even blunter when asked if he had thoughts on the emails.
“No,” he responded.
