On this weekend’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” host Chris Wallace questioned Vice President-elect Mike Pence on whether the Trump campaign had any contact with Russian operatives.
Partial transcript as follows:
WALLACE: I want to ask about to go very specific questions briefly so we can move on to domestic policy. We now know that the Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Flynn had several conversations with the Russian ambassador just at the time that President Obama was announcing new sanctions to the hacking of the U.S. election against Russia. Number one: did Mike Flynn ever discussed lifting sanctions in any of those conversations? Do you know?
PENCE: I talked to General Flynn yesterday, and in the conversation he said that took place at that time, there were not in any way related to the new U.S. sanctions against Russia or the expulsion of diplomats.
WALLACE: All right. a second: Can you flatly deny — if this continues to be out there — but there were any contact at any point in the campaign between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russian operatives, including cutouts, as we know, about the hacking of the Democrats during the election?
PENCE: Some of this derives from this opposition research memo, I guess, that made its way around the internet. There was about 24 hours were Michael Cohen, who has worked in the Trump organization for many years, was accused for having a meeting, they did a little checking, it was a different Michael Cohen, and Michael himself has never actually been to Prague.
WALLACE: If I may, senators specifically asked FBI director Comey about that and they refused to answer. Was there any contact in any way between Trump or his associates and the Kremlin or cutouts they had?
PENCE: I joined this campaign in the summer, and I can tell you that all the contact by the Trump campaign and it;s associates was with the American people. We were fully engaged with taking his message to make America great again all across this country.
WALLACE: I ‘m just trying to get an answer.
PENCE: Of course not. Why would there be any contact between the campaign? This is all a distraction, and it’s all part of a narrative to delegitimize the election and to question the legitimacy of his presidency. The American people see right through it.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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