Pelosi: ‘The Russians have something on the president’

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blasted President Trump on Monday following his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for Americans to “vote out the sell-outs” in the GOP and asserting that “the Russians have something on the president.”

The California Democrat said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) aren’t doing enough to push back against the president’s stance on Moscow after he supported Putin’s denial of interfering in the 2016 election.

{mosads}”If Donald Trump failed to stand up to Putin in front of the press, what makes you think Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Washington will defend us from a foreign adversary’s attack?” she tweeted. “They’ve done nothing. It’s on us to vote out the sell-outs.”

Pelosi’s attack made no mention of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who is retiring after this Congress.

Pelosi noted that 12 more Russians were indicted on Friday for election interference, arguing Trump “embarrassingly failed to stand up to the person who spearheaded the attack.”

Just several days ago, 12 Russians were indicted for attacking our democracy.

Today, America’s so-called leader embarrassingly failed to stand up to the person who spearheaded the attack.

Seriously, what does Putin have on Trump that’s he’s so afraid?

— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) July 16, 2018

If Donald Trump failed to stand up to Putin in front of the press, what makes you think Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Washington will defend us from a foreign adversary’s attack?

They’ve done nothing. It’s on us to vote out the sell-outs.

— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) July 16, 2018

“Seriously, what does Putin have on Trump that’s he’s so afraid?” she asked.

“President Trump’s weakness in front of Putin was embarrassing, and proves that the Russians have something on the President, personally, financially or politically.”

Before the press conference, Pelosi hammered Trump for not pressing the issue of Russia’s election interference during his private meeting with Putin, saying there’s a simple reason for the president’s reluctance to take on Moscow more aggressively: fear.

“The president, in my view, was afraid to mention the subject at hand: 12 indictments against people connected to the intelligence community in Russia trying to disrupt our elections,” she said during a pro-democracy forum in Washington hosted the Center for American Progress Action Fund. 

“So from the standpoint of that conversation, I think the president was afraid to bring it up. We know he wasn’t being diplomatic; that’s not his modus operandi. And it begs the question: What does Vladimir Putin, what do the Russians have on Donald Trump personally, politically and financially that he would behave in such a manner, and in doing so just barreling his way through Europe undermining our allies?”

Pelosi went on to say she’s supportive of world leaders meeting and finding common ground, but feels it’s not useful if the president fails to “face the realities that are there.”

“The reality is that the Russian government was a party to the disruption, those associated with the Russian government were a party to the disruption of our government, of our democracy, and our commitment is about people understanding [that]. … We know they’re suppressing it enough on the Republican side, but no suppression of the vote by tactics used by a foreign government,” she said.

Pelosi’s remarks echo those from Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said the Helsinki press conference leaves “a single, ominous question … over the White House.”

“What could possibly cause President Trump to put the interests of Russia over those of the United States? Millions of Americans will continue to wonder if the only possible explanation for this dangerous behavior is the possibility that President Putin holds damaging information over President Trump,” Schumer said.