FILE
- In this March 6, 2017 file photo, Democratic National Committee (DNC)
Chairman Tom Perez speaks at a protest against President Donald Trump’s
new travel ban order in Lafayette Square outside the White House in
Washington. Navigating ongoing rifts ... more >
By Seth McLaughlin -
The Washington Times -
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
The
head of the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday mocked the Trump
administration’s claim that the indictments and a guilty plea this week
from members and advisers to the Republican’s 2016 campaign has nothing
to do with the president, saying there is now “clear evidence” of
collusion with Russia.
Speaking at a breakfast sponsored by the
Christian Science Monitor, Tom Perez, who took over the troubled DNC
this year, said the indictments of former campaign chairman Paul
Manafort and longtime associate Rick Gates, as well as the guilty plea
from George Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser, show
“that the rot went all the way to the top of the campaign.”
“It is
clear to me that the investigation will continue and this is not the
end of the criminal charges moving forward, and it is troubling to me to
see such appalling silence from so many Republican leaders because the
silence isn’t simply deafening, it is appalling, because we are
Americans first, and this was indeed an assault, not just simply on the
DNC, but our democracy,” Mr. Perez said.
Mr.
Perez also took aim at the way in which White House press secretary
Sarah Huckabee Sanders dismissed the legal action as unrelated to the
Trump campaign.
“I looked at the Papadopoulos materials,” he said.
“How can you look someone in the eye with a straight face on the podium
where she stood and say that Papadopoulos, his guilty plea, had nothing
to do with the campaign? That is beyond the laugh test.”
On
Monday, special counsel Robert Mueller announced a guilty plea from Mr.
Papadopoulos who lied to the FBI about contacts he made with Russian
operatives. Mr. Mueller also unveiled a 12-count indictment against Mr.
Manafort and Mr. Gates that included charges of money laundering and tax
evasion.
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