Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that all the “real evidence” of Russian interference in the presidential election points to Democratic collusion. His charge comes one day after President Trump tweeted that the “phony Russia story” is “a total scam!”
“It is ironic that all of the real evidence of real money and real influence-buying relates to Democrats,” Gingrich said on Fox New’s “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”
“There is no evidence that anybody was being purchased on the Republican side.”
Gingrich, a trusted Trump adviser, added that Russian interference in U.S. elections “may have helped Democrats far more than Republicans” in the past.
Gingrich cited the brother of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta as an example, saying Tony Podesta is a “registered agent for a Russian bank” as an example.
Trump has frequently assailed allegations of possible collusion between his associates and Moscow as a smokescreen intended to compensate for Clinton’s unexpected loss in November.
Gingrich urged Congress to examine all of Russia’s efforts and involvement to subvert elections both in the U.S. and abroad, rather than narrowly focusing on possible Russian ties to President Trump’s associates.
“… The committees, beyond my understanding, are narrowly defining what this investigation is about. It should be about the degree to which the U.S. was penetrated by efforts to corrupt our society and to purchase influence,” he said.
The House and Senate intelligence panels are probing the Russian election meddling and any ties between members of Trump’s campaign and Moscow. This week, former national security adviser Michael Flynn offered to testify in the ongoing probes in exchange for legal immunity.
But Gingrich dodged questions Sunday about whether there needs to be a special investigation into the ties or if the Senate Intelligence Committee should take the lead, as questions swirl about House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’s independence from the White House.
“There is no crime here, I don’t know what the crime would be, and a zero question of crime by the Trump people,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich also slammed the news media for being in a “frenzy” and a state of “hysteria” since Trump took office, reasoning that the left-wing media is targeting the White House by peddling the possible Kremlin-Trump connection.
