A report from WTMJ news partner ABC says that the President of the United States believes he would accept information from a foreign country about his 2020 Presidential election opponent without telling the FBI.
Evan McMurry, the senior social media officer for ABC, shared this video with the President and ABC’s George Stephanopolous.
EXCLUSIVE: Pres. Trump tells @GStephanopoulos he wouldn’t necessarily alert the FBI if approached by foreign figures with information on his 2020 opponent: “It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it.” https://t.co/7gvoAViw9r pic.twitter.com/k5Yqd9YxdC
â Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) June 12, 2019
“I’ve seen a lot of things over my life. I don’t think in my own life I’ve ever called the FBI,” the President said.
“You don’t call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you…”
Stephanopolous interrupted and said, “(Former Senator and Presidential candidate) Al Gore got a stolen briefing book. He called the FBI.”
“Well, that’s different, a stolen briefing book,” the President responded.
“This isn’t a stolen briefing book. This is somebody that said, ‘We have information on your opponent.’ Oh, let me call the FBI. Give me a break. Life doesn’t work that way.”
“The FBI Director says that’s what should happen,” retorted Stephanopolous.
“The FBI Director is wrong,” responded President Trump.
Later, Stephanopolous asked how the President’s campaign would respond if Russia, China or another foreign country offered information on whoever President Trump would face, “should the accept it or should they call the FBI?”
“I think maybe you do both,” said President Trump.
“I think you might want to listen. There’s nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country – Norway – we have information on your opponent. Oh, I think I’d want to hear it.”
The President then said such actions by a foreign power is not interference in American elections.
“They have information. I think I’d take it,” he said.
“If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI, if I thought there was something wrong. But when somebody comes up with oppo research, right, they come up with oppo research. ‘Oh, let’s call the FBI.’ The FBI doesn’t have enough agents to take care of it. But you go and talk honestly to congressmen, they all do it, they always have, and that’s the way it is. It’s called oppo research.”