On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) stated that the Syria strike “could very well be interpreted as an attempt by the administration to get out from under the claim that they’re colluding with Russia.”
Moulton said that he thinks Trump “did the right thing” by striking Syria, but that Trump needs to have more of a plan.
Later on, Moulton was asked about his statement that “It seems like there’s a lot of evidence that members of this administration that are more concerned with Russia’s goals than our own.” He responded, “Well, first of all, I mean, you know, one exception does not prove the rule. I mean, you know, this could very well be interpreted as an attempt by the administration to get out from under the claim that they’re colluding with Russia. But the bottom line is, that you know, we don’t really know. There are a lot of things that Trump has that seem like they’re to be playing right into the hands of Putin. We ought to just find out, Tucker, and I think you and I ought to be able to agree on that.”
He also pointed to Trump calling the Russians in advance of the strike “to make sure they got their troops out of the way. I mean, I’m on the Armed Services Committee. He didn’t consult with us before doing that, but he did feel it fine to call the Russians. So, it’s hard to say that he wasn’t concerned about the Russian troops.”
Moulton further stated, “I didn’t say it was a — I confirmed that as an explanation. I said that that is a believable, viable explanation, which is no different than what you’re saying. I mean, there’s a lot of evidence, and we’ve heard investigation after investigation that uncovered stones that have Trump administration officials colluding with, contacting intelligence officials with the Russians and then lying about it. I mean, we’ve heard that with Jared Kushner. We’ve heard that with Jeff Sessions. We’ve heard that with — a long list.”
He also said that there “are people who think” that the Syria strike was to distract from claims of Russian collusion, and we “don’t know what’s going on here.”
Moulton later added, “I just threw that out as an alternative hypothesis. I didn’t say that they were actually colluding with Russia. I’m just saying that maybe this is a way for them to say we’re willing to stand up to the Russian regime. You’re implying that they would be colluding with Russia. Maybe you know something about the Trump-Russia connections that even I don’t know.”
Moulton did re-iterate that he agreed with the strike, but that Trump, his administration, and campaign have done some inappropriate things that need to be addressed in a bipartisan way that says “Russia is an enemy of the United States.”
Moulton concluded, “Trump is trying to cut the State Department budget, and a lot of programs that are used to counter Russian influence in Eastern Europe, and…you hear veterans on both sides of the aisle saying this is not helpful for our national security. So, I can give you a long list of things that Trump is doing that are not helpful to our national security either. But, at least I’m here saying, he did one thing right, which is to take this action against Assad when he used chemical weapons.”
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