Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylavnia is a former FBI agent and he’s joining Rep. Will Hurd, a former CIA agent, in criticizing Donald Trump’s obvious kowtowing to Vladmir Putin during their joint press conference in Helsinki. In an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered host Michel Martin, Fitzpatrick offered a sobering assessment of the press conference, saying he was "frankly sickened by the exchange.”
Fitzpatrick served the FBI in counterterrorism roles and was assigned to the Ukraine. He knows Russia and Putin very well and said he believes Trump was manipulated by “master manipulator” Vladmir Putin. In the interview below (which you really should listen to), Fitzpatrick says he agrees with the assessment of his colleague and fellow Republican, Rep. Will Hurd of Texas:
Over the course of my career as an undercover officer in the C.I.A., I saw Russian intelligence manipulate many people. I never thought I would see the day when an American president would be one of them.
The president’s failure to defend the United States intelligence community’s unanimous conclusions of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and condemn Russian covert counterinfluence campaigns and his standing idle on the world stage while a Russian dictator spouted lies confused many but should concern all Americans. By playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands, the leader of the free world actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign that legitimized Russian denial and weakened the credibility of the United States to both our friends and foes abroad.
Will any other Republicans in Congress have the courage to come forward and work to stop this obviously manipulated and/or compromised president in the name of our national security? Let’s hope so. Listen to the interview below.