From the beginning of his
administration, President Trump has
responded to every new bit of evidence
from the C.I.A., F.B.I. and N.S.A.
that Russia intervened in our last
election on his behalf by either attacking Barack Obama or the Democrats for being too
lax — never President Vladimir Putin of
Russia for his unprecedented cyberhit
on our democratic process. Such
behavior by an American president is so
perverse, so contrary to American
interests and values, that it leads to only
one conclusion: Donald Trump is either
an asset of Russian intelligence or really
enjoys playing one on TV.
Everything that happened in Helsinki
today only reinforces that conclusion.
My fellow Americans, we are in trouble
and we have some big decisions to
make today. This was a historic moment
in the entire history of the United States.
There is overwhelming evidence that our president, for the first time in
our history, is deliberately or through
gross negligence or because of his own
twisted personality engaged in
treasonous behavior — behavior that
violates his oath of office to “preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of
the United States.”
Trump vacated that oath today, and Republicans can no longer run and hide
from that fact. Every single Republican lawmaker will be — and should be —
asked on the election trail: Are you with
Trump and Putin or are you with the
C.I.A., F.B.I. and N.S.A.?