Steve Schmidt levels GOP lawmakers who knew Trump colluded with Russia and are still covering for him by Tom Boggioni Raw Story 8/19/2020

Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe, former Republican Party campaign consultant Steve Schmidt singled out sitting Republican senators who took part in writing a devastating report on Donald Trump's election collusion with the Russians. Speaking with co-host Joe Scarborough, Schmidt -- an ardent foe of the president -- pointed out that the Republican lawmakers who participated in the compilation of the nearly thousand page report that painted a damning portrait of foreign collusion still voted against impeachment and are still running cover for him. "So, Steve Schmidt, again, Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, Susan Collins, Roy Blunt, John Cornyn, Ben Sasse all did what they really needed to do as Americans, and that is, allow a full and fair report about Donald Trump and his family and his campaign's just treacherous behavior towards a foreign country that considers themselves our sworn enemy, told the truth about it" Scarborough began. "But you just sit and wonder, these people voted against the impeachment of Donald Trump, despite the fact last year they sent criminal referrals out for three members of his team -- Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner, and Don junior, two family members." "This committee also said, again, let's see -- Rubio, Cotton, Collins, Blunt, Cornyn, Ben Sasse all told the truth -- all told the truth and said that Donald Trump committed perjury in the Robert Mueller investigation in his answers to Robert Mueller," he continued before adding that the report specifically stated it was a grave counterintelligence threat to the United States of America. "I'm sorry, it just seems astounding that they continue to run cover for Donald Trump publicly," he suggested. "It sure does, and it completely contradicts the findings in the report," Schmidt replied. "Now, I do think one thing, Joe, is that Chairman Burr, who had to step down because of his insider trading difficulties, is the person who most directly shaped the outcome of the report. Marco Rubio came into this like an eighth-inning relief pitcher, and so, maybe all of these members were cornered by the accumulation of reality and facts, but every one of those members is going to vote for Donald Trump, has endorsed Donald Trump." "None of those members has stood up and condemned Donald Trump for this terrible behavior," he continued. "None of them has talked about, apart from the report, verbally, on television, communicate directly to their voters and to the American people the dangers this type of conduct poses to the security of the country." "Lastly, this is still happening," he elaborated. "It's happening right now. It's happening as we speak, and none of these senators are out there condemning the president for doing what George Washington warned the country about as he left office, which was conspiring with a foreign power to influence politics in this country, sovereign nation of the people, by the people, for the people. So, it's just reprehensible conduct, and even yesterday, Marco Rubio was out there spinning the findings of this, trying to cover for Trump, asserting that what was said in the report was, in fact, not what was said in the report -- it's really remarkable."